Akraberg

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Position on the Faroe Islands map
Detail from the topographic map of Suðuroy
Akraberg with lighthouse

Akraberg ( fär. For "Äckerkliff") is the southernmost point of Suðuroys on the Faroe Islands . Here is one of the Faroese lighthouses .

Irish monks and later Frisians settled here. Akraberg was last inhabited by a lighthouse keeper and his family, today the place is deserted.

Akraberg is also the southernmost point of the Faroe Islands (apart from the offshore archipelago Sumbiarsteinur ). From here it is about 300 km (162 nautical miles) to the next country, the Shetland Islands . The other extreme points of the Faroe Islands are Mykineshólmur , Mykines (west), Enniberg , Viðoy (north) and Stapin , Fugloy (east).

Akraberg is a popular destination because of its exposed location. There is a road connection.

The lighthouse

The Akraberg lighthouse was built in 1909 on an 80  m high cliff. At the same time, a beacon keeper and the associated staff were hired. Since the distance to the nearest village, Sumba , was relatively large, houses had to be built in Akraberg for the staff. Nobody lives in Akraberg since the automation of the beacon.

The 14 m high tower is also secured with wire ropes . The beacon has a fire height of 94  m and is not in operation from May 21 to July 19 due to the length of the day in mid-summer. If visibility is poor, the station sends a 5-second fog signal every minute .

Old settlement history

Remains of high-lying fields have been found on the east side of Akraberg, which came from Irish monks (hermits) who came over the Shetland Islands in their fur boats around 625 and settled mainly on Suðuroy.

The chronicler Adam von Bremen reports that Frisians traveling to Iceland stranded on a coast with a strong current around 1040 and settled there. The report can contain the historical truth about the Frisians who settled on Akraberg, where there is a strong current, and where they were able to take over the fields that the Irish monks had worked at the time.

The Frisians who lived on Akraberg were the only pagans in the country until the Black Death in 1350 ruined twelve of their thirteen houses. The only survivors, a farmer and his two sons, moved to Sumba , where they married three of the surviving women. To the east of the lighthouse, on the steep slopes, you can still see traces of the high-altitude fields that the Irish monks cultivated. Most of the fields have been swept away by the sea over time. With a little caution you can walk north on the steep sheep trails.

Another legend tells that the Frisians were pirates .

Broadcasting station

Medium wave transmitter

Akraberg has also been the location of a medium-wave transmitter of the Faroese radio Útvarp Føroya since 1990, which transmits on the frequency 531 kHz with 100 kW (but mostly only 25 kW) transmission power and should be receivable at night at least in northern Germany. A 147 meter high steel truss mast with a triangular cross-section is used as the transmitting antenna.

In 2008, a new semiconductor transmitter was installed to replace the old tube transmitter. Since then, the maximum transmission power is only 100 kilowatts instead of 200 kilowatts. However, for cost reasons, transmission is usually carried out with an output of 25 kW.

Web links

Commons : Akraberg  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. Dansk Fyrliste 2015. (PDF; 5.35 MB) (No longer available online.) Søfartsstyrelsen, archived from the original on January 14, 2016 ; Retrieved January 30, 2016 (Danish). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.soefartsstyrelsen.dk
  2. http://de.structurae.de/structures/data/index.cfm?id=s0058357
  3. Kai Ludwig: Medium wave heard again from the Faroe Islands. Radio Eins , December 27, 2017, accessed January 4, 2018 .

Coordinates: 61 ° 23 ′ 35.4 "  N , 6 ° 40 ′ 43.1"  W.