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Population:	80
Postal Code (Zip):	FO 175
Location	61°57′22"N 6°47′37"W
Country	Faroe Islands
Municipality	Tórshavnar (List of municipalities Municipalities of the Faroe Islands The Faroe Islands are administratively divided in 30 municipalities , with about 120 cities and villages. Until December 31, 2008, there were 34 municipalities, and until December 31, 2004, there were 48 municipalities... )

Kirkjubøur is the southernmost village on Streymoy

Streymoy

Streymoy is the largest and most populated island of the Faroe Islands. The capital, Tórshavn is located there. The name means "island of currents".- Geography :...

, 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...

 and the country's most important historical site.

It is located on the west coast and has a view towards the islands Hestur

Hestur

Hestur is an island in central Faroe Islands, located to the west of Streymoy and to the south of Koltur. Hestur means horse in Faroese. Located on the west coast is a large colony of guillemot. In the north of Hestur there is a moorland with four small lakes, of which Fagradalsvatn is the largest...

 and Koltur

Koltur

Koltur is an island in the Faroe Islands, located to the west of Streymoy and to the north of Hestur. The island has just one settlement: Koltur. It was abandoned in the 1980s by the sheep-farmers whose flocks grazed on the southern part of the island. Since then only two people have returned , and...

.

History

The village was important in the Middle Ages. At that time it was the episcopal residence for the Diocese of the Faroe Islands and as such the spiritual centre of the society. In those days the village is said to have had around 50 houses. The majority of these houses were washed away by a fierce storm in the 16th century.

There are three main attractions from this time:

• The ruins of the Magnus Cathedral
  Magnus Cathedral
  Magnus Cathedral is a ruined cathedral in the town of Kirkjubøur in the Faroe Islands. It was built in by Bishop Erlendur about the year 1300, but the building was never completed. The cathedral is to this day in an unfinished state; the building has never had a roof. Magnus Cathedral is the...
  
   (appointed as World Heritage Site
  World Heritage Site
  A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...
  
  ) from about 1300.
• The oldest still used church of the Faroes, Saint Olav's Church from 12th century.
• The oldest still inhabited wooden house of the world, Kirkjubøargarður
  Kirkjubøargarður
  Kirkjubøargarður is one of the oldest still inhabited wooden houses of the world. The farm itself has always been the largest in the Faroe Islands....
  
   from 11th century.

People

Many prominent people come from Kirkjubøur or have been living here:

• Sverre I of Norway (1151–1202), grew up here.
• Bishop Erlendur (?-1308), who build the Magnus Cathedral and wrote the Sheep letter, the oldest document of the country.
• Súsanna Helena Patursson
  Helena Patursson
  Súsanna Helena Patursson was a Faroese actress and writer, and the first political feminist in the country. She also wrote the first play in the Faroese language...
  
   (1864–1916), first feminist of the Faroes.
• Jóannes Patursson
  Jóannes Patursson
  Jóannes Patursson was a Faroese nationalist leader and poet.He was the great-grandson of the Faroese national hero Nólsoyar Páll. His brother Sverre Patursson was an important writer and his sister Susanna Helena Patursson the first feminist of the Faroe Islands.-Background:Jóannes was born in...
  
   (1866–1946), nationalist leader and writer.
• Sverre Patursson (1871–1960), writer, journalist and environmentalist.
• Erlendur Patursson
  Erlendur Patursson
  Erlendur Patursson was a Faroese politician and writer.Erlendur was born in 1913 in Kirkjubøur. He was the son of the politician Jóannes Patursson....
  
   (1913–1986), writer and nationalist politician.
• Tróndur Patursson
  Tróndur Patursson
  Tróndur Patursson is a Faroese painter, sculptor, and glass artist. He was educated in Norway and was initially a sculptor. He has since become better known as a painter and glass artist....
  
   (b. 1944), artist and adventurer.

The Cathedral Ruins

Pictures of the ruins of the Magnus Cathedral featured on a series of Faroese stamps in 1988:

Kirkjubøur pew ends

The mediaeval carved pew ends from Saint Olav's church are now to be found in the National Museum of the Faroe Islands

National Museum of the Faroe Islands

Føroya Fornminnissavn is the national museum of the Faroe Islands, located in Tórshavn.- The Museum on Brekkutún 6 :...

. These featured in three series of Faroese stamps, engraved by Czeslaw Slania

Czeslaw Slania

Czesław Słania was an accomplished postage stamp and banknote engraver. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, Słania was the most prolific of all stamp engravers, with over 1000 stamps to his credit...

.

1980 series:
1984 series:
2001 series:

External links

• Faroeislands.dk: Kirkjubøur Images and description of all cities on the Faroe Islands.