Tindhólmur
Encyclopedia
Sørvágsfjørður
Sørvágsfjørður is a fjord on the west-side of the island Vágoy in the Faroe Islands which is approximately long.At the end of the fjord lies the village of Sørvágur. On the northside of the fjord lies the small village Bøur. On the southside of the fjord lies the picturesque Tindhólmur flanked by...
, west 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....
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...
. It has its name from the five peaks, which are named Ytsti, Arni, Lítli, Breiði, Bogdi (Farthest, Eagle, Small, Broad, Bent). The islet is uninhabited.
Facts and figures
- size: 6500 m²
- size (old Faroese style): 2 Merkur
- highest point: 262 m.
The eagle
According to legend, a family once lived on Tindhólmur. The family consisted of a man, a woman and a small child. One day while the father was on the sea fishing, an eagleEagle
Eagles are members of the bird family Accipitridae, and belong to several genera which are not necessarily closely related to each other. Most of the more than 60 species occur in Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just two species can be found in the United States and Canada, nine more in...
came and snatched the child and took it to its nest on one of the peaks.
The mother - for love of her child - climbed all the way to the eagle's nest to rescue her child. Alas, when she reached the nest the eagle had plucked the child's eyes out. However, she was able to rescue the child, but unfortunately the child later died from the injuries. After that incident, the couple moved from the islet, and since that day no one has ever lived there.
The story is probably just a myth, but there are some interesting facts regarding it. One of the peaks on Tindhólmur is named The eagles' peak. Discoveries on the islet suggest that the islet has indeed been inhabited once.