Tórshavn

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Please help improve this article or section by expanding it.
Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion.
This article has been tagged since January 2007.

The Tinganes peninsula, in Tórshavn, is the seat of the Faeroese government

Tórshavn Cathedral and harbourside buildings

Map of Tórshavn

Tórshavn (IPA: [tʰɶrshaun]; Danish: Thorshavn, Norwegian: Torshavn, Icelandic: Þórshöfn, Swedish: Torshamn) is the capital of the Faroe Islands. The city is located in Tórshavn municipality on southern Streymoy island and has 19,000 inhabitants. The name of the city means "Thor's Harbour", named after the god of thunder and lightning in Norse mythology.

The Faroese government is located in the historic Tinganes peninsula of Tórshavn. The parliament, the Løgting, was originally located on Tinganes but, since 1856, it has been located on the town square, Vaglið. To the northwest of the town lies the 347 metre high mountain Húsareyn, and to the southwest, the 350 meter high Kirkjubøreyn.

Tórshavn Cathedral was first built in 1788 and partly rebuilt in 1865. Since 1990 it has been the seat of the Bishop of the Faroe Islands (in the national Evangelical–Lutheran Church).

The city was founded in the 10th century, and was temporarily occupied during World War II by the British (1940–45), following the German invasion of mainland Denmark. See also: British occupation of the Faroe Islands in World War II.

[edit] Sport

Soccer teams in Tórshavn:

HB - homepage (1904)
B36 - homepage (1936)
AB - homepage (1973)
FRAM (1975)

Handball teams in Tórshavn:

Kyndil - homepage (1956)
Neistin - homepage (1978)
H71 - (1971)

[edit] See also

List of towns in the Faroe Islands

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Tórshavn

Faroeislands.dk: Tórshavn — Images and description of all cities on the Faroe Islands
Torshavn.fo - Official Homepage (in Faroese and English)
Torshavn Weather Guide