Streymoy

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Position of Streymoy island

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

1 Geography
2 Population
3 Towns and villages
4 Transportation
5 External links

[edit] Geography

The island is oblong in shape and stretches roughly in Northwest-Southeast direction with a length of 47 km and a width of around 10 km. There are two deeply indented fjords in the Southeast: Kollafjørður and Kaldbaksfjørður. The island is mountainous, especially in the Northwest, with the highest peak Kopsenni (789 m). That area is dominated by over 500 m high cliffs.

Map of Streymoy

Like the rest of the Faroe Islands there are numerous short streams and minor lakes. The main vegetation is grass, with no trees.

Streymoy is separated from the nearby Eysturoy, second largest island of the Faroe Islands by the narrow sound of Sundini in the east. To the West lies the island of Vágar, and to the South the island of Sandoy. Three additional smaller islands are situated around the Southern tip of Streymoy: Koltur, Hestur and Nólsoy.

[edit] Population

There are about 21,000 inhabitants on the island, which represents more than 40% of the whole population of the Faroe Islands. The majority of them reside in the capital Tórshavn which has a population of about 15,000. Besides being the seat of the government it is also the chief port, seat of the university and the commercial centre of the islands.

[edit] Towns and villages

The other important towns include: Vestmanna, the former ferry port in the West, Kollafjørður at the centre and the picturesque villages of Saksun and Tjørnuvík in the North. From a historic point of view the village of Kirkjubøur near the Southern tip of the island is very important as it was an episcopal center during the Middle ages.

[edit] Transportation

Bridge over Streymin, Sundini Sound

All the settlements are connected by surfaced roads. The main entry road to Tórshavn passes through a 2.8 km long tunnel. The connection to the island Eysturoy is via a bridge over the Sundini sound. Since 2002, a 4 km long undersea tunnel connects Streymoy to Vágar thereby completing the road connections of the three "mainland" islands.

Streymoy is connected by regular ferry service to the islands of Sandoy and Suðuroy. In summertime, scheduled ferry connects Tórshavn with Hanstholm in Denmark, Lerwick in the Shetland Islands (Scotland, United Kingdom), Bergen in Norway and Seyðisfjörður in Iceland. The closest airport is on Vágar island.