Toftir

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Toftir
Village
Toftir
Location in the Faroe Islands
Coordinates: 62°5′20″N 6°44′8″W / 62.08889°N 6.73556°W / 62.08889; -6.73556Coordinates: 62°5′20″N 6°44′8″W / 62.08889°N 6.73556°W / 62.08889; -6.73556
State  Kingdom of Denmark
Constituent country  Faroe Islands
Island Eysturoy
Municipality Nes
Population (2009)
 • Total 823
Time zone GMT
 • Summer (DST) EST (UTC+1)
Postal code FO 650

Toftir (Danish: Tofte) is a village in Nes Municipality on the island of Eysturoy, in the Faroe Islands.

Toftir is part of a chain of villages stretching over a distance of 10 kilometres on the east side of Skálafjørður (fjord) on Eysturoy.

The highest hill in Toftir, called Húkslond, is only 129 metres high, and Nes Municipality is the only area in Faroe, which has no mountains (above 200 metres).

The Toftavatn lake area was the first area to become a Nature reserve in the Faroe Islands back in the 1980s, and in 2006 Nes Municipalcy in cooperation with neighbouring Runavík Municipalcy joined a network of local authorities in the Nordic countries, who would carry out specific projects that aimed to halt the loss of biodiversity in their local areas.[1]

Toftir is served by Bus no. 440 which is linked to Bus no. 400 for Tórshavn on Skipanes Junction.

History

The settlement of Toftir dates back to the landnám period. According to local lore, only one woman survived the Black Death (1348-1350) which left the village in ruins; hence the name Toftir, meaning ruins. The village name prior to the Black Death is said to have been Hella, meaning slope, which refers to the gradual sloping hillside on which the village is built.

Local economy

Toftir has one major store with late opening hours, one cafe Í Hópinum which serves liquor and a shop Navia which sells products made of wool and also souvenirs. The limited shopping options are explained by Toftir's close proximity (3 km) to Runavík which is the main shopping town on Eysturoy Island.

Toftir has a relatively big harbour with a big filleting-plant that was started in 1969. The harbour is also home to the headquarters of Faroe Fish Market, the only real Fish Auction in the Islands. A number of new industries have also been built on the harbour in recent years .

Churches

The new church in Toftir, Fríðrikskirkjan (Frederick's Church: CotFI) was built in 1994.

Other local religious communities include the Inner mission which is a revivalist movement of the Church of the Faroe Islands, the Plymouth Brethren and the Bahá'i Community.

Sport

The major sport venue in Toftir is an athletics stadium, called Svangaskarð, the first of its kind to be built in the Faroe Islands.

Like most Faroese towns, Toftir used to participate in the National Rowing sport of the Faroe Islands, but ceased participating in this sport in the 1980s.

The village's football team is B68 Toftir, it was established in 1962 and has won the Faroese league 3 times, in 1984, 1985 and 1992.

The local swimming club Flot was established in 1984; it participates in the national swimming competitions in the islands.

In 2009 a Volleyball team was established in Toftir, in 2010 the name Ternan was chosen for the team.

Toftir is also home to one of the pioneering Chess clubs in the islands, Tofta Talvfelag which has won the Islands' Chess Championships once.

Toftir Boat Association Bátafelagið was established on the 13'th of March 2005, and two months later the first Boat Festival was held in Toftir, and is now held every year in the first week-end of May.

Noted natives and residents

See also

References

  1. ↑ Local contributions to meet the 2010 target to halt the loss of biodiversity, http://www.dirnat.no/content.ap?thisId=500026558.

External links

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