Saksun Private Residence

Saksun, Faroe Islands

Icon AWA Official Place

AWA featured place

Photo by: Hollie Harmsworth

Saksun is a village of just 15 inhabitants near the northwest coast of the remote Faroese island of Streymoy. The town consists of a church, museum, and a sheep farm called Dúvugarður with a small house on the water (pictured).

The 18 Faroe Islands are a territory of Denmark with a combined 600 miles of roads, a total population of 49,000 inhabitants and 70,000 sheep. Saksun lies in the bottom of what used to be an inlet of the sea, surrounded by high mountains. The inlet formed a deep natural harbor, until a storm blocked it with sand in the 1600s. The old harbor became a seawater lagoon, only accessible by small boats at high tide.

The church in the village did not always reside in Saksun. Originally, it was located in Tjørnuvík, a long walk over the high mountains to the north. To move the church, in 1858, town residents disassembled the church, carried it over the mountains and reassembled it in Saksun. It was renamed Saksunar Kirkja (Church of Saksun).

The turf roofs of Saksun’s buildings are a traditional style that was used to provide protection from the rain as well as thermal insulation. They have become a symbol for the region and are utilized on newer homes throughout the islands as well.

Submit Your Image
Create an account to comment! Login/Sign Up.

Partner

Add an image to Saksun Private Residence

Tips for photos
  • The image must be created by you
  • Subject is symmetrically aligned, and a dash of color never hurts.
  • The place shown has some sort of historical significance
  • FAQs

Max file size is 40MB. JPEGs are preferred.

You do not have permission to view this form.

You did it! 🎉

Your submission has been sent to our team for review!

Please note, it can sometimes take us a month or more to get through all the submissions. There are only two of us reviewing, so we appreciate your patience, but we pinky-promise to email you if your submission is accepted, so keep an eye on your inbox for updates!

Got it!

Log in

Need an account? Sign up

Sign up

Already have an account? Log In

Enter your email to reset your password

Enter your new password