Miðvágur
Encyclopedia
Vágar
Vágar is one of the 18 islands in the archipelago of the Faroe Islands and the most westerly of the large islands. With a size of 178 km² , it ranks number three, behind Streymoy and Eysturoy....
. It has been a municipality until 1 January, 2009 when it fused with Sandavágur
Sandavágur
The town of Sandavágur lies on the south coast of the Faroese island of Vágar, and has been voted the most well-kept village in the Faroes twice. The name Sandavágur means sandy creek and refers to the beach down by the inlet. From one point in Sandavágur you can get a view of all the southern...
into Vága kommuna
Vága kommuna
Vága kommuna is a municipality in the Faroese Islands. It covers the eastern part of the island of Vágar ....
.
Located on the south coast of the island of Vágar
Vágar
Vágar is one of the 18 islands in the archipelago of the Faroe Islands and the most westerly of the large islands. With a size of 178 km² , it ranks number three, behind Streymoy and Eysturoy....
, Miðvágur is the largest town on this Faroese island. For years, Miðvágur has been known as a good location for whaling
Whaling
Whaling is the hunting of whales mainly for meat and oil. Its earliest forms date to at least 3000 BC. Various coastal communities have long histories of sustenance whaling and harvesting beached whales...
and traditionally, bells would ring with the cry "Grindabóð!" - "Pilot whale ahoy!"
Miðvágur has been inhabited since at least the Viking period—as excavations have demonstrated. Since these early times, there has been a local "Thingstätte"(local community council), or "Várting". The most interessting building of the village is Kálvalíđ, a house which was probably built at the end of the Middle Ages. It is the oldest building of the village and possibly of the whole Faroe Islands. Kálvalíđ consists of two rooms with a turf roof, built in the traditional faroese style. Today it houses a museum.
- Inhabitant: 981 (as of: 31 December 2002)
- Post code (zip): FO-370
- Municipality: Vága kommunaVága kommunaVága kommuna is a municipality in the Faroese Islands. It covers the eastern part of the island of Vágar ....
(since 2009) - Football teams: MB (Miðvágs Bóltfelag) founded in January 1905.
People of note from Miðvágur
- Beinta BrobergBeinta BrobergBente Christine Broberg, known as Beinta Broberg, , is perhaps the best known woman from the history of the Faroe Islands...
(1667–1752), a pastor's wife, and believed to be the model for the main character of Barbara, the best—known Faroese novel. - Jens Christian SvaboJens Christian SvaboJens Christian Svabo was a pioneering Faroese linguist, scholar, and ethnographer. Svabo was born in Miðvágur, Vágar, the Faroe Islands to a minister and his wife. Svabo studied history, music, and theology in Miðvágur and later in Tórshavn. Between 1765 and 1800 he lived in Denmark and studied...
(1746–1824), a pastor's son, who contributed greatly to the modern concept of a Faroese written language, working to standarize grammar and spelling and created a Faroese dictionary. Svabo also collected a variety of folk-tales and historical examples of the spoken dialect of Faroese on Miðvágur.