Bøur is a village in the Sørvágs Kommuna

Sørvágs Kommuna

Sørvágs kommuna is the westernmost municipality in the Faroe Islands. It consists of the villages of Sørvágur, Bøur, Gásadalur and Mykines. Originally the municipality only included the village of Sørvágur, but on January 2005 the municipality of Sørvágur agreed to merge with the smaller...

 of 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...

, 4 km west of Sørvágur

Sørvágur

Sørvágur is a village on the island of Vágoy in the Faroe Islands. It is located at the landward end of Sørvágsfjørður. Sørvágur is the largest village in the municipality of Sørvágs Kommuna.-Name:...

, with a population of 70 (2005). Its location is 62°5′27"N 7°22′3"W and its postal code is FO 386.

Bøur is a small village on the west-side of Vágoy

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....

 on the north side of Sørvágsfjørður

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...

, 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 a magnificent view over the sea and the rocky islet Tindhólmur

Tindhólmur

Tindhólmur is an islet on the southside of Sørvágsfjørður, west of Vágar in the Faroe Islands. It has its name from the five peaks, which are named Ytsti, Arni, Lítli, Breiði, Bogdi...

 with its many peaks, Gáshólmur

Gáshólmur

Gáshólmur is a small islet on the southside of Sørvágsfjørður in the Faroe Islands. To the east of the islet lies another islet, Tindhólmur. The islet is uninhabited, and the only living creatures are seabirds and sheep rams, which are placed on the islet each year by the locals in Sørvágur.*...

 and the two "drangar", (tall, pointed clifftops sticking up from the sea). This motif is famous on many paintings and photographs.

The old houses in the village are bunched together with narrow lanes between them, and at the western end stands the cozy church, which was built in 1865.

Bøur is an ancient settlement and is mentioned in the so called Dog Letter dating from 1350 AD, but it is probably older. The village is also mentioned as having a church in a document dated 1710, but it is not known when the first village church was built.

Eiriksboði

The best-known story from Bøur tells of a dispute about succession to property. Two brothers, Simun and Eirikur, owned all the village property jointly, but Eirikur was keen to have it divided. In the end Eirikur killed his brother, and then travelled over to Kirkjubøur

Kirkjubøur

Kirkjubøur is the southernmost village on Streymoy, Faroe Islands and the country's most important historical site.It is located on the west coast and has a view towards the islands Hestur and Koltur.-History:...

 to beg the bishop for mercy. The bishop was inclined to grant him absolution if he paid a large penalty to the bishop and to the church. Eirikur agreed, and the contract was carved out on a wooden beam.

Eirikur sailed back to Bøur, but when he reached the still waters and thought he was out of danger, a great wave rose up, the boat capsized, and he was drowned. The hidden reef has been known ever since as Eiriksboði in memory of the event, and is situated on the inner side of Tindhólmur.

To Steal Fire

The village land consists of eighteen fields of enclosed and open land, most of it being owned by the king (and is now national property). Another old story tells how ownership passed to the king. The settlement was very tiny at the time, perhaps only a single household, and one day the fire in the hearth went out. This meant an ignominious journey to the next settlement to ask for fire, and a young girl was sent off to Sørvágur

Sørvágur

Sørvágur is a village on the island of Vágoy in the Faroe Islands. It is located at the landward end of Sørvágsfjørður. Sørvágur is the largest village in the municipality of Sørvágs Kommuna.-Name:...

. She was lucky and found nobody at home, so she took some burning wood from the fire and hurried back home. Unfortunately the smoke from the fire had been seen, and the farmer from Sørvágur accused her of stealing the fire. As a penalty, most of Bøur became royal estate property.

External links

• Faroestamps.fo (Public domain and source for this article)
• Faroeislands.dk: Bøur Images and description of all cities on the Faroe Islands.