Gamlarætt is a ferry port in the Faroe Islands . It is situated on the southwestern side of the island of Streymoy , the largest island in the Faroes, between the villages of Velbastaður and Kirkjubøur . It accommodates ferry services to the islands of Sandoy and Hestur . The port is also used for local salmon farms .
17-469: Until 1993 all ferry traffic to Sandoy operated from Tórshavn , on a northern route across Skopunarfjørður to Skopun and Hestur , and a southern route via Skúvoyarfjørður to Skálavík , Skúvoy and Sandur . This resulted in crossing times of 1–2 hours for non-stop trips to 2–3 hours with other calls en route from Tórshavn. A ferry port at Streymoy's southern tip would reduce the crossing time to 30 minutes to both Sandoy and 20 minutes to Hestur. Such
34-532: A jetty was earlier proposed to be built in Kirkjubøur in 1963 and 1970, selected for its proximity to Sandoy and the relatively calm waters. The latest proposal for a new ferry port surfaced in 1983, again selecting Kirkjubøur . However, locals argued the ferry port would harm the village's important historic character . Eventually the Løgting decided in 1986 to construct the ferry port north of Kirkjubøur at
51-721: A self-sustaining way of life, and agricultural businesses. The island supports 6,878 sheep, not including lambs. There are two grind beaches used for whaling, in Húsavík and Sandur. The island's surrounding bird cliffs and steep slopes have been identified as an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International because of their significance as a breeding site for seabirds , especially northern fulmars (50,000 pairs), Manx shearwaters (5000 pairs), European storm petrels (50,000 pairs), European shags (150 pairs), great skuas (15 pairs), Atlantic puffins (70,000 pairs) and black guillemots (400 pairs). An additional IBA on
68-562: A site only locally known, named Gamlarætt or in translation 'the old sheepfold'. This site has a steep coast with heavy breakers, necessitating the extensive use of breakwaters . Construction started in 1987 but was put on hold in 1990 in the face of the Faroese economic crisis . The Faroese government had to deprioritise numerous projects, including the Vágatunnilin (which opened eventually in 2002), but for financial reasons it continued
85-403: Is considered the best island for agriculture due to its fertile sandy soil. The largest potato farm in the country is located on the island. And people who have gardening interests have generally an easier time getting plants to grow here. On 19 August 2015 the agricultural union "Veltan" was founded for people who have an interest in gardening and farming, their aim is to improve conditions for
102-524: Is no ferry connection to the uninhabited island of Koltur . From Gamlarætt there is a modern highway to Tórshavn , which takes circa 15 minutes by car. Strandfaraskip Landsins operates route 101 from Tórshavn to meet departures to Sandoy. Buses do not call in Velbastaður (village) or Kirkjubøur, but can stop at junctions on request. Tórshavn's local Bussleiðin routes 6 and 8 doesn't stop at Gamlarætt port, though passengers can embark and disembark at
119-552: Is now a part of the Environmental Agency ( Umhvørvisstovan ). The regions are also relevant to pilot whale hunts. The sheriff decides if a pod of pilot whales can be killed or not. The boats need to get the sheriff's permission before any slaughter can take place, and in some regions the sheriff also decides which villages the whale meat and blubber should be given to. This is the case in Suðuroy: if people from
136-519: The Faroe Islands , an autonomous region of the Kingdom of Denmark . It also refers to the region that includes this island along with Skúvoy and Stóra Dímun . As of January 2020 , the largest population centre on the island is the village of Sandur with a population of 532. Other settlements include Skarvanes , Skopun , Skálavík , Húsavík and Dalur . Sandoy gets its name from
153-462: The Faroe Islands are frequently changing. In the 1980s there were more than 50 municipalities. During the last past decades the number has been decreasing steadily, and more municipal-mergers can be expected within the following years. The aim of the ministry of interior is that in 2015 there will be only seven or nine municipalities in the Faroe Islands, more or less following the boundaries of
170-487: The districts and constituencies. If this happens the Faroe Islands will have left the administrative structure of parish municipalities, which was built up in the first half of the 20th century and entered a structure of regional municipalities. Furthermore, there was a long-running discussion on reducing or even removing the constituencies. In the end, from the 2008 election onwards, the constituencies were abolished. The regions ( sýslur ) are not administrative parts of
187-666: The island comprises the lowland areas around the village of Sandur , with their moorland and peat bogs , and the lakes Gróthúsvatn, Lítlavatn, Sandsvatn and Stóravatn, because they support 100-150 breeding pairs of Eurasian whimbrels . Regions of the Faroe Islands The Faroe Islands are divided into 29 municipalities, six regions/shires ( sýsla , sýslur in plural) and since 2007 there has been only one constituency, earlier there were seven constituencies. Each region has one sheriff ( sýslumaður ). The administrative subdivisions of
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#1732787218432204-486: The islands like the municipalities ( kommunur ). Municipalities charge taxes from inhabitants, while regions cannot charge taxes. Regions are mostly used by the public churches for the registration of births, deaths, marriages, divorces, christenings, etc., but the central administration which gathers these informations from the priest and the municipalities is located in Tórshavn. It is called Landsfólkayvirlitið and
221-466: The junction towards Kirkjubøur, some 1.3 kilometres (0.81 mi) uphill. The Sandoyartunnilin opened in 2023 and it goes from Gamlarætt towards Sandoy.. The tunnel mouth is located right next to the ferry jetty. It replaced the ferry service to Sandoy, but Gamlarætt is still in use for the service to Hestur. In future, this might provide a stepping stone for the Suðuroyartunnilin . After
238-609: The large beach at Sandur , and the general sandy soil of the island. It is the only island with dunes . There are similarly named islands, Sanday in the Orkney Islands, Sanday in the Inner Hebrides and Sandøy in Norway. The Sandoyartunnilin connects between the centre of the island and Gamlarætt on Streymoy . Construction started in 2019 and the tunnel opened for traffic on 21 December 2023. The island
255-463: The opening, Gamlarætt remains the port-of-access to Hestur, though additional uses for the terrain may be found for example tourism and recreational purposes. 61°57′45″N 6°49′07″W / 61.96250°N 6.81861°W / 61.96250; -6.81861 Sandoy Sandoy ("Sand Island") is the first of the five southern islands that make up the Faroe chain, the fifth biggest of all
272-488: The works at Gamlarætt. It opened in May 1993 when the old ferry Tróndur started using the new jetty and route, reducing crossing times from Streymoy to Skopun from 1.15 hour (2.5 hours via Hestur) down to 30 minutes. The direct ferry services to other villages on Sandoy ceased. In 2001 the purpose-built ferry Teistin took over the route and Tróndur was decommissioned. Gamlarætt consists of 540 metres of breakwater, which
289-474: Was built with broken rocks created by the blasting of the hairpin turns carved into the cliffside, seen in the photo above. The total costs are estimated at 130 million krones . When including the construction of ports in Skopun and Hestur and the new highway to Tórshavn, the entire project has an estimated cost of 300 million krones. Strandfaraskip Landsins operates three ferry routes from Gamlarætt: There
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