Fugloy

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Position of Fugloy island

Map of Fugloy

Fugloy on Faroese stamp issued 1999

Fugloy is the eastern-most island in the Faroe Islands. The name means bird island, after the large number of birds that nest on the island's cliffs.

Area: 11.2 km² (rank 11)
Population: 45 (rank 13, on 31 December 2002)
Population density: 4.0 persons/km²
Highest mountain: Klubbin, 621 m
Number of summits: 2
Municipality: Fugloyar

1 Geography
2 Mythology
3 Location
4 External links

[edit] Geography

There are two settlements: Kirkja on the south-coast and Hattarvík on the east-coast. There are three mountains on Fugloy: Mikla (420 m), Klubbin (620 m) and Norðberg (549 m). The Eystelli cliffs, which are 448m are located on the east coast. Nearby there is also a lighthouse, a natural arch feature and what looks like the outline of an Egyptian Pharaoh (the Pharaoh's Face).

[edit] Mythology

There are several myths connected to this island. The most important is the myth on the "floksmenn", the flock-men - a group of medieval separatists living in Hattarvík. The most notorious of these separatists were the bandits (referred to as such by the Danish governmental delegation in Tórshavn) "Høgni Nev", "Rógvi Skel" and "Hálvdan Úlvsson" who - together with "Sjúrður við Kellingará" from the neighbour village Kirkja - tyrannized and partially controlled the northern region of the Faroe Islands. This is one of the early separatist myths of the Faroe Islands, and the general moral of the story is that the reasonable Sjúrður við Kellingará was made to follow the militant line of especially Hálvdan Úlvsson and his fellows that were in fact criminals more than noble separatists. All four were sentenced to death even if Sjúrður was granted the possibility of amnesty. Yet he couldn't bear the crimes they had committed during their separatist acts and wished to be killed together with the other flock-men.