Argir is a village in the Faroe Islands

Faroe Islands

The Faroe Islands are an island group situated between the Norwegian Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, approximately halfway between Scotland and Iceland. The Faroe Islands are a self-governing territory within the Kingdom of Denmark, along with Denmark proper and Greenland...

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• Population: 1907
• Postal code (Zip). FO 160
• Location: 61.98°N 6.75°W
• Municipality: Tórshavnar kommuna
  Tórshavnar kommuna
  Tórshavnar kommuna is the municipality of the Faroese capital Tórshavn and its surroundings. The municipality covers the southern half of Streymoy island and adjacent minor islands.-Population progression:...
  
  
• Football team: AB (Argja Bóltfelag
  Argja Bóltfelag
  Argja Bóltfelag is an Faroese football club based in Argir. They played in the 1. deild, the second highest division in Faroese football, and they came in as runners up in second place, so now they played in Faroe Islands Premier League in 2010. However, they ended as number 10 and are now back in...
  
  )

Argir most likely takes its name from Old Irish

Irish language

Irish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is now spoken as a first language by a minority of Irish people, as well as being a second language of a larger proportion of...

 airge meaning summer pasture.; several placenames in Faroe carry the same name with this meaning. Once a village south of Tórshavn

Tórshavn

Tórshavn is the capital and largest town of the Faroe Islands. It is located in the southern part on the east coast of Streymoy. To the north west of the town lies the high mountain Húsareyn, and to the southwest, the high Kirkjubøreyn...

, Argir has grown and is now merged with Tórshavn. In 1997 it joined the municipality of Tórshavn.

In recent years more and more houses have been built in Argir and the village or quarter has grown high into the hills. The uppermost part of Argir is now so far away from Torshavn that a car is practically needed to be able to live there. In return the area offers a magnificent view over the sea and the capital.

There is a cosy boat harbour with boathouses in Argir. The church in Argir was built in 1974.
From the 16th century there was a leprosy

Leprosy

Leprosy or Hansen's disease is a chronic disease caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium leprae and Mycobacterium lepromatosis. Named after physician Gerhard Armauer Hansen, leprosy is primarily a granulomatous disease of the peripheral nerves and mucosa of the upper respiratory tract; skin lesions...

-hospital in Argir. Some paupers were living there as well. When the leprosy was eradicated in 1750 the hospital was turned into a workhouse for the poor.

External links

• Faroeislands.dk: Agir Images and description of all cities on the Faroe Islands.