Hov, Faroe Islands - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Population: 133
Postal code (Zip): FO 960
Location: 61°30′30"N 6°45′29"W
Municipality: Hovs

Hov is a village located on Suduroy’s east coast, 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 is frequently mentioned in the country's history. Salmon sea farming has been practiced in Hov since the 1980’s. North of Hov along the old road to Øravík are interesting basalt columns that march along the hills.

The Church

The wooden church in Hov was originally built in Vágur

Vágur

Vágur meaning Bay is a town on the Faroe Islands of Suðuroy, it is situated on the east coast of the island on the Vágsfjørður fjord, and dates from the fourteenth century. Expansion has meant that the nearby town of Nes is now a suburb of Vágur...

on Kirkjukletti in 1862. It was moved to Hov in 1942. A new church was built in Vágur, it was ready in 1939, after that they could start to take down the old church and move it to Hov, as it was promised 25 years earlier in 1914.

Hovstunnilin - The Hov-Øravík tunnel

In 2007 the road tunnel "Hovstunnilin" opened. It connects the villages Hov and Øravík

Øravík

Øravík is a village on the east coast of the island of Suðuroy in the Faroe Islands. The village is located in the center of the island on a crossroad where the road to Fámjin goes towards west over the mountains to the west coast. One part of the village is located in the bay of Øravík, the other...

, but it also connects the southern and the northern part of the island. Now it is not necessary to drive over the mountain, which can be difficult in wintertime. Now it takes only 15 minutes to drive from Tvøroyri

Tvøroyri

Tvøroyri lies picturesquely on the north side of the Trongisvágsfjørður on the east coast of Suðuroy, Faroe Islands....

to Vágur

Vágur

. The tunnel is 2,5 km long.

Viking History - Viking Chief Havgrímur

According to the Faroese Sagas and local tradition, the first Viking

Viking

The term Viking is customarily used to refer to the Norse explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates who raided, traded, explored and settled in wide areas of Europe, Asia and the North Atlantic islands from the late 8th to the mid-11th century.These Norsemen used their famed longships to...

settler on Suðuroy

Suðuroy

Suðuroy is the southernmost of the Faroe Islands. The island covers 163.7 km². In 2010 there were 4763 inhabitants, but there has been a gradual decline in the population numbers ever since the 1950s....

established a farm in Hov, which is said to be named after his pagan hof
Heathen hofs
Heathen hofs or Germanic pagan temples were the temple buildings of Germanic paganism; there are also a few built for use in modern Germanic neopaganism...

. His grave is at "undir Homrum" in Hov and is the only chieftain burial site to be found on the Faroes. Hov lies in the middle of the island and the area is flat and wide with a good view out to sea. This enabled Suðuroy’s first settlers to follow exactly what was happening on the sea around.

The viking

Viking

Havgrímur who was chief of half of the country lived in Hov in the 10th century. His burial plot is located in the hills above the village, but was largely destroyed when opened in by amateur archaeologists in 1834.

The area west of Hov

West of Hov is a waterfall with the name Foldarafossur. It lies in Hovsá, which runs from Vatnsnes

Vatnsnes

Vatnsnes is a peninsula in Iceland. It is home to one of the largest seal colonies in Iceland. Examples of such places are Hindisvík and Ósar. Seals have been protected for many years in Hindisvík. A stone hut was built at Ósar on the eastern side of the peninsula for seal watching.Visitors...

and is the line of demarcation between the villages of Porkeri

Porkeri

Porkeri is a village in the Faroe Islands, situated north of Vágur on Suðuroy's east coast. As of 2004 it had a population of 332. and has been inhabited at least as early as the 14th century....

and Hov. The waterfall is formed at the place where Hovsá runs over the edge at Foldarshamri, and a bit further to the south there is a mountain pass which is called Foldarsskarð. These three place names all have the same origin, and linguists think that the name comes from the soil (in Faroese also foldin) below these localities.

Approx. 30 years ago, the electricity company SEV commenced construction work in Hovsdal, so that the hydropower could be converted into electricity, and a dam was built approx. ½ km west of Foldarafoss. Therefore, the waterfall does not have the same power as before, but if it rains a lot, and water flows out over the dam, the waterfall may show some of its old power.

Myri Museum - The Old Shop

There is an old building down in the harbour of Hov, which now is a museum, an art gallery and a café. The eastern part of the house is called Fiskastovan. The western part of the house has been a shop until sometime in 1980s. Other parts of the house and the area around it has been used for clip fish industry, the fish was dryed outside the house on the flat stones. A white flag was raised in order to let people in the village know when there was work for them. That was before the phone was a possibility. The house was in bad shape a few years ago, but now it has been restored. Some interesting items and old books with peoples names and how much they earned etc. are still in the house. The house was first located in Vágur, but it was moved to Hov, just like the church was. Fiskastovan á Mýri is used for many different purposes: Art exhibitions, café, small conserts, lectures, dinner for groups etc.

External links

Faroeislands.dk: Hov Images and description of all cities on the Faroe Islands.
Myrimuseum.com, The Mýri Museum and Café Fiskastovan.
Hov.fo, The Municipality of Hov.