Toftir

Toftir
Village

Toftir in late June 2004
Toftir

Location in the Faroe Islands

Coordinates: 62°5′20″N 6°44′8″W / 62.08889°N 6.73556°W / 62.08889; -6.73556Coordinates: 62°5′20″N 6°44′8″W / 62.08889°N 6.73556°W / 62.08889; -6.73556
State  Kingdom of Denmark
Constituent country  Faroe Islands
Island Eysturoy
Municipality Nes Municipality
Population (2009)
 • Total 823
Time zone GMT
 • Summer (DST) EST (UTC+1)
Postal code FO 650
Climate Cfc

Toftir (Danish: Tofte) is a village in Nes Municipality on the island of Eysturoy, in the Faroe Islands.

Toftir is part of a chain of villages stretching over a distance of 10 kilometres on the east side of Skálafjørður (fjord) on Eysturoy island.

The highest hill in Toftir, called Húkslond, is only 129 metres high, and Nes Municipality is the only area in Faroe, which has no mountains above 200 metres.

The Lake Toftir area was the first area in the Faroe Islands to become a Nature reserve in the 1980s, and in 2006 Nes Municipality in cooperation with neighbouring Runavík Municipality joined a network of local authorities in the Nordic countries who would carry out specific projects that aimed to halt the loss of biodiversity in their local areas.[1]

Toftir is served by Bus 440 which connects with Bus 400 for Tórshavn at Skipanes Junction.

History

The settlement of Toftir dates back to the landnám (settlement) period. According to local lore, only one woman survived the Black Death (1348–1350), which left the village in ruins; hence the name Toftir, meaning ruins. The village name prior to the Black Death is said to have been Hella, meaning "slope", which refers to the gradual sloping hillside on which the village is built.

Local economy

Toftir has one major retail store with late opening hours, one café Í Hópinum, which serves liquor, and a shop, Navia which sells woollens and also souvenirs. The limited shopping options are explained by Toftir's close proximity (3 km) to Runavík, the main shopping town on Eysturoy Island.

Toftir has a relatively big harbour with a big filleting plant that was started in 1969, and hosts the headquarters of Faroe Fish Market, the only real Fish Auction in the Islands. A number of new industries have also been built on the harbour in recent years.

Churches

The new church in Toftir, Fríðrikskirkjan (Frederick's Church: CotFI) was built in 1994.

Other local religious communities include the Inner mission which is a revivalist movement of the Church of the Faroe Islands, the Plymouth Brethren and the Bahá'i Community.

Sport

The major sports venue in Toftir is the Svangaskarð, the first of its kind in the Faroe Islands.

Like most Faroese settlements, Toftir used to participate in the National Rowing sport of the Faroe Islands, but ceased participating in this sport in the 1980s.

The village's football team, B68 Toftir, was established in 1962 and has won the Faroese league 3 times: in 1984, 1985 and 1992.

The local swimming club Flot was established in 1984; it participates in the national swimming competitions in the islands.

In 2009 a Volleyball team was established in Toftir; in 2010 the name Ternan was chosen for the team.

Toftir is also home to one of the pioneering chess clubs in the islands, Tofta Talvfelag which has won the Islands' Chess Championships once.

The Toftir Boat Association (Bátafelagið) was established on 13 March 2005, and two months later the first Boat Festival was held in Toftir; it is now held every year on the first weekend of May.

Noted natives and residents

See also

References

  1. ↑ Local contributions to meet the 2010 target to halt the loss of biodiversity, http://www.dirnat.no/content.ap?thisId=500026558.
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