Viðareiði is the northernmost village in the Faroe Islands and was historically prized for the Siberian driftwood that washed onto its shores. It is situated on a narrow land bridge between the 2759 foot Villingadalsfjall and Enniberg, Europe's highest vertical sea cliff.
Viðareiði is an ancient settlement that appears in records as early as 1350. Its name translates to Wood Isthmus because the geography of the shoreline created a natural trap for driftwood floating from Siberia. In an archipelago with no native trees, this made the village a vital strategic resource for the construction of houses and fishing boats. The community flourished due to this steady supply of timber which was often more valuable than gold in the remote North Atlantic.
The village is defined by its extreme geography, squeezed between the 2759 foot Villingadalsfjall mountain and the 2474 foot Cape Enniberg. For centuries, the inhabitants were famous for their mastery of these heights. Men from the village would descend the sheer vertical faces of Enniberg on ropes to harvest seabirds and eggs, a practice that provided essential protein during the winter months. This isolated way of life remained largely unchanged until the late twentieth century when a series of tunnels finally connected the island of Viðoy to the mainland.
Unfortunate, the forecast for strong winds made a hike to Enniberg unwise, but we were invited into the church by locals who were doing a deep sypher cleaning. We chatted for a while with a gentleman who worked as a captain on a boat for one of the salmon farming operations on the islands. He told us a bit about the church, where apparently they have one of the very few original Christian crosses from before the islands converted to Protestantism. He also gave us some information about salmon farming in the area.
It was a great chance to interact with local Faroese who were warm and welcoming and obviously proud of their town and homeland.Read more
March 21 in Faroe Islands ⋅ 🌬 6 °C