History of the Faroe Islands

Designed in 1919 and hoisted for the first time; twenty years later, the "riot flag"; recognized on April 25, 1940 after the British occupation of the Faroe Islands in World War II ; and confirmed in the autonomy law of the Faroe Islands of 1948: Merkið , the flag of the Faroe Islands. Today it hangs in the church in Fámjin

FÆROARUM - Prima & accurata delineatio. Lucas Debes drew the oldest known Faroe Islands map in 1673.

The history of the Faroe Islands is part of the history of Scandinavia . It often shows parallels to the history of Iceland , like this one is often determined first by events in the history of Norway and later in the history of Denmark .

The oldest traces of human settlement are charred barley grains from Á Sondum, which were discovered in 2013. They date from the middle of the 4th to the middle of the 6th century, with others from the period between the late 6th and the late 8th centuries. There was also a Viking house from the 9th century.

Until then, it was believed that the islands were uninhabited at that time. Around 625, the island group was rediscovered by Irish monks. After 800, the land was conquered by the Vikings , whose descendants partly make up the current population of the Faroe Islands . The Viking Age on the Faroe Islands can be reconstructed in the Faroese saga that originated in Iceland and through numerous archaeological finds.

In 999 the Faroe Islands were Christianized and in 1035 a part of Norway . With the Danish-Norwegian personal union , the Faroe Islands effectively became part of Denmark . After the Reformation in 1538, the dominance of the Danish language perpetuated . The center of power and trade moved from Bergen to Copenhagen . In 1814 Norway was separated from Denmark and the Faroe Islands remained with Denmark. From 1821 to 1948 the Faroe Islands were a Danish office . The Danish constitution has been in force in the Faroe Islands since 1850, making them part of the constitutional monarchy. The Danish trade monopoly was lifted in 1856. The written New Faroese language was born around this time . As a result, the Faroe Islands developed from a medieval agricultural society to a modern fishing nation. The Faroese language dispute ensured that the endangered national language was asserted as the most important national identity feature.

After the British occupation of the Faroe Islands in World War II in 1940, the Faroe Islands flag was recognized and the Faroe Islands formed their own Provisional Government. After the war, they gained extensive autonomy in 1948 with Løgmaður as head of government and old Løgting as parliament.

Geological history

→ Main article : Geology of the Faroe Islands

As a remote archipelago, the Faroe Islands are one of the corners of the world that were last settled by humans. They were formed around 70–60 million years ago in the Tertiary as a result of volcanic activity as part of the ridge at that time, which stretched from Greenland to Ireland and Scotland and was up to 4,000 meters high.

The typical Faroese basalt formed from the cooled lava , which is repeatedly crossed by thinner layers of tuff , which were created from the subsequent ash rain. During a volcanic break there was tropical vegetation. Coal layers show imprints of the primeval sequoia and ginkgo . Most of this plateau was sunk by erosion . What remained were the islands of the Hebrides , the Faroe Islands and Iceland .

The Ice Age formed the Faroe Islands in its current form from the remains of this plateau with the characteristic valleys in a southeast-northwest direction, which often filled with water, created a connection with the sea and formed today's fjords of the Faroe Islands . The soft tuff layers were constantly exposed to the force of the surf and the harsh climate, were washed out and caused the thick basalt layers to collapse above them. This is how the characteristic staircase structure in the interior of the country and the huge demolition edges, primarily on the west coast and the northern cliffs such as B. Beinisvørð and Enniberg .

Arctic plants may have survived the Ice Age on the Faroese peaks above the 400 meter thick glaciers . When those disappeared, the Faroe Islands were repopulated by plants from Scotland and Norway that came into the country, for example, by seabirds. Besides the birds, there were only insects and seals that looked for their places on the Faroese spars and in the caves.

The first humans found a land in which there were no terrestrial mammals, reptiles or tall trees. In addition to the (poor) coal seams mentioned, the Faroe Islands do not have any mineral resources. However, there is evidence of oil on the shelf within today's 200 nautical mile zone.

Agriculture is only possible to a limited extent, and the islands are mainly used as grazing land for sheep, which can also be found on inaccessible cliffs and e.g. B. the uninhabited island Lítla Dímun can be exposed to use every square meter. The ubiquitous sheep prevent tree growth in the long term. The Faroe Islands offer pasture for around 70,000 sheep, which for centuries have been able to feed the population of around 5,000. Since the 19th century and the industrialization of fishing, the island's population has increased tenfold.

However, the Faroe Islands' greatest natural resource is the ocean. The pilot whale hunt in the Faroe Islands is part of the tradition and culture, and today's nation derives its wealth from fishing.

Irish monks

The Baglhólmur is said to have once been inhabited by Irish monks

The legend of St. Brendan says that he discovered a "bird paradise" around 560 on his famous journey Navigatio Sancti Brendani . Many assume that the Faroe Islands could have been meant, especially since he claims to have found an "island of fire" further north - Iceland?

The Faroe Islands are first mentioned in 825. The Irish monk Dicuil writes in his Liber de mensura orbis terrae

“There are many other islands in the ocean north of Britain that can be reached from the northern British Isles in a direct two day or night voyage when the sails are full and there is a constant favorable wind. A devout priest told me how he sailed there in a two-seater boat on two summer days and the night in between and entered one of the islands "

- Dicuil : Liber de mensura orbis terrae VII, 14

“There is another group of small islands, almost all separated from each other by narrow waterways. Hermits who had come from our country, Ireland, lived there for almost a hundred years. But if the islands were always deserted from the beginning of the world, it is today because of the Norman pirates who drove the hermits away. Now they are populated by countless sheep and various seabird species. I have never found these officially mentioned islands. "

- Dicuil : Liber de mensura orbis terrae, VII, 15

Today it is undisputed that the Faroe Islands were entered by Irish monks by 625 at the latest and were settled from Sumba . Archaeological evidence can also be found in the immediate vicinity at Akraberg , Víkarbyrgi and a little further north in Porkeri . More recent studies suggest a settlement as early as the middle of the 4th century.

Among other things, botanical examinations on Mykines have shown that oats have been cultivated there since then. However, these must have been comparatively small groups of hermits.

Viking conquest

→ Main article : Viking Age in the Faroe Islands

The main immigration came in the 9th century by the Vikings , who moved west from Norway . According to the Faroese saga written in Iceland in the 13th century , the first settler was Grímur Kamban . He is said to have lived in Funningur . Its arrival is estimated to be around 825. Another well-known settler from this period is Naddoddur . He is credited with discovering Iceland around 850 when he sailed past the Faroe Islands on his way home from Norway.

The second wave of land occupation took place around 885–890, when many people from Norway fled from Harald Fairhair's lust for power, as reported in the Faroese saga. But there were also immigrants from Ireland and Scotland , mostly Vikings, but also with Celtic women and slaves. Genetic studies show that today's male inhabitants of the Faroe Islands have 80% Scandinavian characteristics in their sex chromosomes , i.e. in their Y chromosomes , while the X chromosomes of today's women are 90% of Celtic origin.

The settlers in the Faroe Islands did not correspond to the popular cliché of the Vikings, but were simple farmers. Faroese raids are not known. In contrast to Iceland, there was also no local upper class, which is one reason that no independent Faroese literature was able to develop for many centuries . Faroese ballads established a tradition in which literature was passed down orally, and the Faroese sigur songs are as unique as the fact that parallel to the Icelandic Faroese saga, the Faroese Sigmundskvæði confirms the main features of the story.

It is assumed that the Althing on Tinganes was established around 900. However, it has only been definitely documented since around 970. At that time, the Faroe Islands were a kind of republic .

From then until the 19th century, Faroese wool was an important export good for the country. Dried fish was also exported. For example, wood was imported from Norway for shipbuilding. The abundant birdlife , the sea with its fish, whales and seals and the driftwood for building houses served to provide the settlers with self-sufficiency .

Christianization and Norwegian rule

After 1000 years: cemetery gardeners tend the grave of Sigmundur on Skúvoy .

Statue of Bishop Erlendur († 1308) in the west facade of Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim. The Faroe Islands owe him the Magnus Cathedral and the sheep letter , but when he raised the church tithe, he had to flee.

Initial initial of the sheep letter in the valuable Lundabók from 1310, which has been kept in the Lund University Library in Sweden since the 18th century (hence the name).

→ Main articles : Viking Age in the Faroe Islands  and Christianization of the Faroe Islands

After the Norwegian King Olav I Tryggvason was baptized by the English King Aethelred in 994 and evangelized Norway the following year, he invited the respected Faroese chief Sigmundur Brestisson to him, who then converted 999 in the Faroe Islands for the acceptance of Christianity through the Faroese Althing , today's Løgting , provided. The resistance of the local Vikings under the chief Tróndur í Gøtu leads to the murder of Sigmundur Brestisson in 1005 . His tombstone on Skúvoy is one of the most important monuments in the archipelago. Olav's successor, Olav II. Haraldsson (Olav the Saint) of Norway, was finally able to establish Christianity in Norway and also in the Faroe Islands and Iceland. For this he is still revered by the islanders on the day of his death, the Ólavsøka (German for "Olafswacht").

From 1035 the archipelago belonged to Norway as a fiefdom of Leivur Øssurson , which marked the final end of the Viking Age. The Faroe Islands were able to maintain a high degree of independence due to their great distance from the central power. The coin find of Sandur , which must have been buried around 1070/80, attests to the international trading activity of this time .

As a result, the Catholic bishops established themselves in Kirkjubøur , the seat of the Diocese of Faroe Islands , which was established around 1100. From around 1110 the priest school was the first school in the Faroe Islands. This must have had a high standard even then, as the biography of the later Norwegian ruler Sverre Sigurdsson suggests, who grew up here from 1156 to 1168 and was then considered to be extraordinarily well educated at home. Olav's Church was built there around 1250 and is still in use today. The Magnus Cathedral, which was started around 1300, remained unfinished. It was the time of Erlendur , the most famous clergyman in the Faroe Islands in the Catholic era.

The Hereford map from 1280 is the oldest known "world map" on which the Faroe Islands also appear. There they are called farei . This is a Celtic name , according to many linguists, and means distant islands . Nevertheless, the name will Faroe mostly as øer Fær- understood, with FAR Old Norse for cattle, wool cattle is so sheep ( øer means the Danish Islands ). In view of the predominant woolly animals there, sheep islands is an equally plausible and accepted interpretation. In addition, the Faroe Islands themselves use the ram as their coat of arms.

In 1294, Erik II Magnusson forbade the Hanseatic League from trading with the Faroe Islands, which was to be carried out exclusively through Norwegian merchants in Bergen . In 1302 the trade ban for the Hanseatic League was renewed, which was not lifted until 1361.

In 1298 the Faroe Islands received their "Basic Law" through the sheep letter from the Norwegian king, which was not changed until 1637. The sheep letter not only regulates sheep breeding, but also the grindadráp , reasonable hospitality costs, dealing with serfs, and much more.

The Black Death struck the Faroe Islands in 1349/50 and led to a population loss of over 30%. At the same time, the climate deteriorated in this 14th century. General poverty was the result of both events. Many large farmers had to cede their land to the Catholic Church, which should soon own 40% of the land. The international trading activities of the Faroese came to a standstill.

See also : Money of the Faroe Islands in the Middle Ages

Kalmar Union

600th anniversary of the Kalmar Union. Faroe Islands postage stamp from 1997.

In 1380 the Faroe Islands - like Iceland and Greenland - came under the Danish-Norwegian crown as part of the personal union of Denmark with Norway . However, they are still regarded as a colony of Norway. From 1397 to 1523 the islands were part of the Kalmar Union . The Faroese Løgting retained a certain autonomy and has been using this name since 1400 (in the Viking Age it was the Althing).

Ecclesiastically, the Faroe Islands were under the Norwegian Archbishop, and they continued to be subject to Norwegian law. On an administrative, commercial and cultural level, Bergen was the Faroe Islands' most important link with the outside world. The Hanseatic time controlled trade across mountains.

The 15th century

In 1437 the Norwegian peasant leader Amund Sigurdson Bolt got the Faroe Islands as a fief. In 1448, with Christian I, the House of Oldenburg came to power in Denmark . The Faroe Islands subsequently moved from Bergen to Hamburg and Bremen . In 1469 Christian I pledged the Shetland Islands and Orkney as a dowry to the allied Scotland . However, the Faroe Islands remained with the Danish crown.

In 1490 the merchants from Holland received the same privileges in Faroe trade as the Hanseatic League .

Reformation and monopoly trade

Oldest known sheep seal from 1533

On June 24, 1584, the first grindadráp was recorded in writing. It was off the uninhabited island of Lítla Dímun. At that time there was still a wild breed of sheep that resembled goats. Today it is extinct. Otherwise the image of the island has always remained the same.

→ Main article : Monopoly trade over the Faroe Islands  and Gabelzeit

16th century

From 1500 the Faroe Islands were repeatedly exposed to pirate attacks from Great Britain , Ireland and France , even from the Ottoman Empire . Militarily, the islands could hardly defend themselves.

Around 1520 Christian II appointed the Hamburg merchant Joachim Wullenwever as his voigt on the Faroe Islands. After Christian II had to flee Denmark, in 1524 he offered Henry VIII of England the Faroe Islands in exchange for an urgently needed loan. However, the latter refused.

In 1529 the Danish King Frederik I gave the Faroe Islands to the Hamburgers Joachim Wullenwever and Thomas Koppen as a fief . This is seen as the beginning of the trade monopoly over the Faroe Islands. In 1532, Amund Olavsson, the last Catholic bishop of the Faroe Islands, was consecrated.

In 1536 King Christian III tried . sell the Faroe Islands to England for £ 100,000. Henry VIII refused again. In the same year Christian III. carried out the Reformation in Denmark . The Norwegian Imperial Council was abolished without replacement, Norway came directly as a province to Denmark, and with it the Faroe Islands.

The Reformation reached Nidaros in 1537 and finally the Faroe Islands in 1538. This perpetuated the predominance of the Danish language , which was now church language instead of Latin. Although Martin Luther demanded that the word of God should be preached in the respective mother tongue, from the point of view of the Danish Church this was of course Danish and not Faroese.

The property of the Catholic Church passed into the hands of the Crown through the Reformation. The bishopric of Kirkjubøur became the famous Kirkjubøargarður , which has since been the largest estate in the Faroe Islands and is still managed by the Patursson family to this day . King farms were also built in other places . This kongsjørð (king earth ) now belongs to the Faroese state.

The diocese of Faroe Islands was continued by the Lutheran superintendent Jens Riber , but resigned in 1557 and downgraded to a provost of the diocese of Bergen (later Zealand, until 1963). The first Protestant provost was Heini Havreki .

In 1556 the Faroe Islands trade was taken over directly by the Danish Crown , which was represented locally by a Voigt, the Fúti . From 1566 the Faroe Islands were no longer administered from Bergen , but from Copenhagen on the instructions of King Frederik II .

The Faroese Magnus Heinason received the trade monopoly in 1579 and built a protection against pirates in 1580 with the Skansin fortress in Tórshavn . However, he was obviously too financially viable and only retained the Danish monopoly until 1583. He then entered Dutch service and was sentenced to death and beheaded in Copenhagen in 1589 on charges of piracy. He was posthumously rehabilitated the following year. Since then, Heinason has been considered a national hero by many (conservative) Faroese, but is by no means undisputed there.

Statistics on the pilot whale catch in the Faroe Islands have existed since June 24, 1584, but they have only been fully accessible since 1709 to the present day . At that time, four whales were killed off Lítla Dímun . It was to be the only report of a grind on this uninhabited island.

In 1590 the Shetland Islands and Orkney were finally ceded by Denmark to Scotland.

17th century

Christoffer von Gabel (1617–1672) was feudal lord over the Faroe Islands, but never set foot on them. The oppression and exploitation in the fork period became a national trauma.

From 1616 to 1662 the monopoly trade was in the hands of the Icelandic Company . This time is considered relatively fair for the Faroese. In 1619 the headquarters of the trade finally moved from Bergen to Copenhagen. The export of dried fish became less important and Faroese wool , especially stockings, became the dominant export.

In 1637 the sheep letter of 1298 was translated into Danish and all passages that had nothing to do with sheep farming were deleted by King Christian IV . His extensive collection of Danish laws also came into force in the Faroe Islands in 1643. From 1655 the Løgmaður was no longer elected by the Løgting, but appointed by the king.

In the same year the merchant Christoffer von Gabel received from King Frederik III. (who owed his confidante money) the Faroe Islands as a fief . From 1661 von Gabel held the trading monopoly, and the fief was valid for life with inheritance rights for his son Friedrich von Gabel , who took it over in 1673. The fork time lasted until his death in 1708.

In 1673, a major fire devastated the monopoly trade buildings on the Tinganes peninsula in Tórshavn . Presumably it was Gabel's henchman who wanted to destroy evidence before a government commission traveling from Copenhagen could find it. But irreplaceable Faroese documents also fell victim to the flames, so that the Faroese source material was only fully accessible from this point on.

In the same year 1673 the first book on the Faroe Islands was published. The local pastor Lucas Debes described the islands in great detail in his standard work Færoæ et Færoa Reserata . The book was then translated from Danish into English and German, thus establishing knowledge abroad about the remote archipelago and its inhabitants.

The French pirate attack on the Faroe Islands in 1677 meant the sack of Tórshavn. Among other things, the Løgting's cash register was stolen and the Tórshavner Church desecrated. The damaged pulpit with its notches is now in the church in Hvalvík , where it is still in use.

In 1688 the new Norske Lov (Norwegian law) of 1687 came into force in the Faroe Islands , which was based on the absolutist Danish Basic Law of 1665 (" King's Law ", Danish Kongelov ).

Beinta Broberg (1667–1752) became world-famous as the fictional character Barbara . In 1997 the material was filmed in the Faroe Islands. The Norwegian actress Anneke von der Lippe plays the leading role there.

One of the most famous women in the Faroe Islands lived at that time: Beinta Broberg (1667–1752). She was married to three pastors one after the other, the first two of whom died quite young and the third went insane - enough material for the legends of the "bad Beinta", who became world famous as the Faroese femme fatale through Jørgen-Frantz Jacobsen's novel Barbara .

The 18th century

Even Thomas Kingo (1643-1703), the Faroe Islands entered before. His Danish church hymn book from 1699 was of inestimable value here in the 18th and 19th centuries. The Kingopsalme from that time are today part of the Faroese cultural heritage in their own right.

After the fork period ended, the Danish crown took control of the islands again in 1709. A government commission summarized the complaints from the population, and administrative reforms were implemented.

From 1720 to 1776, the Faroe Islands were administered from Reykjavík as part of the Danish colony of Iceland . At the same time, the office of Governor of the Faroe Islands (amtmaður) was introduced. From 1776 to 1816 the Faroe Islands were again administered from Copenhagen as part of Zealand .

The Ryberg trade period from 1768 to 1788 is generally regarded as an important contribution to the development of the country. The Faroese became aware of the clipfish production , which from then on was mainly exported to the Mediterranean countries. Tórshavn experienced an economic boom during this time due to the Danish smuggling trade to England, which was mainly settled via the Faroe Islands through Ryberg's trade.

In 1781/82 Jens Christian Svabo explored the Faroe Islands and wrote the report Indberetninger fra en Reise i Færø 1781–1782 . At the same time he was the first scholar to recognize the value of the Faroese dance ballads that had been passed down orally up to that point , and to fix them for the first time in writing. Svabo is therefore considered to be the pioneer of the Faroese written language, which was able to develop into a consistent set of rules over the next 100 years.

First half of the 19th century

At the beginning of the 19th century, Nólsoyar Páll became a national leader in modern Faroese history. He fought doggedly against the trade monopoly, founded the political myth of the Tjaldur as a national symbol, revolutionized the Faroese boat and built the Faroe Islands' first sailing ship since the Viking Age with the Royndin Fríða in 1804. Nólsoyar Páll has since been considered the undisputed national hero of the Faroe Islands. He stayed at sea in 1809 when he wanted to import grain for his compatriots in need.

After the Peace of Kiel on January 14, 1814, as a result of which the Danish-Norwegian personal union was dissolved and Norway had to join a personal union with Sweden , the Faroe Islands remained with Denmark together with Iceland and Greenland . In 1816 the Løgting was dissolved and the Løgmaður abolished. The Amtmaður took his place and from then on resided in Tórshavn . The Faroe Islands were thus a separate Danish office until 1948 . This status was officially in effect from 1821, when Emilius Løbner finally became head of administration of the islands. This administration included the offices of provost , judge , tax collector and, until 1856, also the head of the monopoly trade. These people were now mostly Danes, while before many of these and comparable posts were held by Faroese. One of the main reasons for this was that at that time there were only a few trained Faroese who could have been considered for such positions.

While Jens Christian Svabo's writings remained unpublished, the Danish pastor and botanist Hans Christian Lyngbye gained special importance when he visited the islands in 1817 and learned Faroese from Svabo. Lyngbye also recognized the value of the old language monuments in the form of ballads and, together with Pastor Johan Henrik Schrøter, completed the first book in the Faroese language, which was published in 1822: Færøiske Qvæder om Sigurd Fofnersbane og hans Æt . The Faroese literature had its official birth. By the end of 2002, there were 4306 book titles in this smallest Germanic language.

The typical Faroese wooden church in Hvalvík dates from 1829. It established the fame of an entire generation of craftsmen who created 13 other such gems.

The 14 famous Faroese wooden churches were built between 1829 and 1847, 10 of which still exist today. They are evidence of the folk art of that time, as the builders were "ordinary" carpenters and boat builders who decorated the church buildings with carvings in their own way.

Christian Pløyen lived in the Faroe Islands from 1830 to 1847. The locals still consider him to be the most capable and popular Danish bailiff, who went beyond his duties to take care of their concerns. And: He taught himself Faroese.

With the March Revolution in Denmark in 1848, King Frederik VII abolished absolutism there. A constituent assembly met in Copenhagen, where the Faroe Islands were represented by committed ex-governor Christian Pløyen . Although Dane, he took the position of most Faroese, such as the abolition of the monopoly trade. But he was unsuccessful. On November 24th, the Faroe Islands were placed under the Icelandic Department of the Danish Ministry of the Interior. In the Danish constitution of June 5, 1849, it was regulated that they send two members to the Folketing . The fact that there was no referendum to adopt this constitution in the Faroe Islands should cause lasting resentment in the emerging national movement and is still seen by many as a fundamental flaw in history. This constitution came into force in the Faroe Islands in 1850. Faroese MPs were elected to the Folketing for the first time in 1851.

Niels Winther (1822–1892) is considered the first modern politician in the Faroe Islands.

The first Faroese MP in the Copenhagen upper house was the lawyer Niels Winther . He campaigned vehemently for the re-establishment of the Løgting. On March 26, 1852, Frederik VII signed the relevant law to rehabilitate the Løgting. At that time, however, the Løgting only had an advisory role. The governor had executive power on the islands and the laws were passed by the Danish Diet. The Løgting has been elected by the Faroese people since 1854.

On January 1, 1856, the monopoly trade that had existed since 1529 was lifted. Faroese trading houses now competed with the established ones in Copenhagen, Schleswig-Holstein and Hamburg. The Faroe Islands developed from a centuries-old and isolated agricultural society in the North Atlantic to a modern fishing nation within 50 years.

As early as 1832, the then governor Fritz Tillisch founded the Savings Bank of the Faroe Islands (since 2006 Eik Banki ).

National movement

Linguist, theologian and politician in the 19th century: VU Hammershaimb

Second half of the 19th century

From 1846 the work of the linguist VU Hammershaimb resulted in the written New Faroese language on an etymological basis. Until then, Faroese had been passed down orally in their own ballads . Hammershaimb and his successors founded Faroese literature and developed ancient linguistic monuments.

What the two British gentlemen of Maria expedition probably did not know: Through its pilot whale hunt -Adventure on 16 June 1854 in Vestmanna was of course out book . These statistics confirm exactly what these early tourists described in their diary. The travelogue is an authentic snapshot of the Faroe Islands in a period of historical upheaval.

In 1852 the first Faroese newspaper, Færingetidende , appeared under the leadership of Niels Winther , but it was banned again after nine issues because it railed against monopoly trading and the bailiff. The final abolition of the monopoly trade over the Faroe Islands on January 1, 1856 set in motion a development that could no longer be stopped. The Faroese began to practice deep-sea fishing and long-distance trade independently, and came into contact with the outside world. In the following hundred years the Faroese nation was constituted until it was recognized as such by Denmark in 1948 - albeit in a state that is still unclear under international law.

In 1861 the first secondary school in the Faroe Islands ( realskúlin ) was built in Tórshavn. The municipality of Tórshavn was founded in 1866, making the city the official capital of the Danish office. In 1870 the teachers' college ( læraraskúlin ) followed. In 1872 the Faroe Islands got their first own fishing trawler, a British sloop , and the era of sloop fishing would last until the 1950s. In the same year the Faroe Islands municipal constitution came into effect and general education became the standard across the country.

On January 5, 1878, the first edition of the newspaper Dimmalætting ("Dawn") appeared. It developed from a four-page weekly newspaper into today's large daily newspaper. It got the name from VU Hammershaimb.

The Løgtings building in 1906, a typical Faroese wooden house with a grass roof . In the background the residence of the Amtmaður , a stone house made of Faroese basalt . The stairs of the Folketing building in Copenhagen are also made of Faroese basalt.

On May 6, 1883, after many decades of waiting, the first pharmacy in the Faroe Islands opened. Your boss has been Olaf Finsen for over 30 years .

Towards the end of the 19th century there were more and more well-educated Faroese who formed a small enclave of students in Copenhagen. The first national association of the Faroese was founded there in 1881. At the Christmas meeting of the Faroe Islands in 1888 , the national movement was formed on the islands to fight for their own language and national independence. The first milestone was to secure one's own cultural identity. In doing so, v. a. on your own Viking heritage. For this purpose the “ Føringafelag ” was founded.

Nú er tann stundin komin til handa - Now the hour for action has come. Battle song by Jóannes Patursson (1866–1946)

In 1889 the first Faroese play appeared : Veðurføst by Helena Patursson . She was also the first feminist in the country and edited the first women's magazine, Oyggjarnar . In the same year the first play by the national poet RC Effersøe came out.

The seafaring school was opened in 1893 and the first regular service between the Faroese Islands was set up in 1896 with the steamship Smiril . The Faroe Islands Folk High School was founded by Rasmus Rasmussen and Símun av Skarði in Klaksvík in 1899 . It was the first educational institution where Faroese was the subject and language of instruction. It is still an integral part of adult education in the country today.

First half of the 20th century

According to a law of March 22, 1907, Greenwich Mean Time was introduced in the Faroe Islands on January 1, 1908 . Before that, Tórshavn's midday solar time was 27 minutes earlier. In 1907, at the insistence of many Christian communities, alcohol prohibition was introduced in the Faroe Islands . The Faroe Islands should become the driest country in Europe for decades . The ban was only relaxed again in 1992.

Between 1900 and 1920 the population of the Faroe Islands increased from 15,000 to over 21,000 and the fishing fleet from 87 to 144 vessels. An economically favorable period prevailed until the First World War.

On December 10, 1903, Niels Ryberg Finsen, the first and so far only Faroese, received a Nobel Prize (for medicine). A short time was in his hometown of Torshavn later Nyvej in Niels Finsens Gøta renamed.

From 1906 the national movement became increasingly political when the first two political parties in the Faroe Islands were formed. From then on, the Faroese political coordinate system developed, where a distinction is not only made between left and right, but also between rigsfælleskab and løsrivelse - belonging to the Kingdom of Denmark vs. Establishment of a sovereign nation state. On April 24, 1918, the Sjálvstýrisflokkurin (Independence Party) won the absolute majority in Løgting for the first time. In that year the first road was built in the Faroe Islands, connecting two places: Skopun and Sandur on Sandoy .

Faroese law student Jens Olivur Lisberg died at the age of only 23 . He will not be forgotten as the father of Merkið . The memorial stone in Fámjin literally says: You were a good boy

On June 22, 1919, Jens Olivur Lisberg hoisted the first Faroe Islands flag in his hometown of Fámjin . He had designed it together with fellow students in Copenhagen . This first Merkið is still hanging in the church at Fámjin.

William Heinesen (1900–1991) is the most famous Faroese in world literature. Although he wrote in Danish, he was one of the most influential men in the national culture of the Faroe Islands throughout his life.

At this political level, a cultural battle was first waged: the Faroese language dispute . On May 26, 1929, the church in Gjógv was consecrated in Faroese. On December 13, 1938, Faroese was officially recognized as the language of instruction in schools, and on March 13, 1939, it was introduced as a church language. The Faroese literature contributed by its protagonists, both men and Jóannes Patursson , Sverri Patursson , Janus Djurhuus , Hans A. Djurhuus , Heðin Brú , Poul F. Joensen instrumental in the language debate by the power of fact has been decided.

The Faroese visual arts established their own view of the monumental nature of the island world. Painters such as Sámal Mikines , and a little later Ingálvur av Reyni and Zacharias Heinesen , created their own visual language, which was respected internationally.

William Heinesen (1900–1991) was probably the most important Faroese cultural worker of the 20th century. He wrote books that were translated into all the world's languages, plays, drew caricatures, still provided paper cuttings in old age, etc. He had a considerable supportive influence on his compatriots, organized art exhibitions and concerts. When rumors circulated in 1960 and again in 1977 that he had been nominated for the Nobel Prize for Literature , he rejected it beforehand on the grounds that it would have been earned by a Faroese who also writes in Faroese and not, like him, in Danish. In the 1980s he retracted his statement and in 1987 was awarded the Nordic Prize of the Swedish Academy, "which is said to be given to those who do not get the Nobel Prize".

In 1923 the Løgting was completely democratized, in that neither the governor nor the provost should automatically belong to it in future and it could elect its chairman itself - until today. On January 23, 1928, the Social Democratic Party of the Faroe Islands was founded with the Javnaðarflokkurin . Social democrats like Petur Mohr Dam and later his son Atli Dam were subsequently among the heavyweights in Faroese politics. The second largest newspaper in the country, the social democratic Sosialurin, has been published since 1927 .

In 1927 the Faroese were able to successfully get the Danish government through that their vital fishery off Greenland was given a base in Føroyingahavn ("Faroese Harbor"). Soon this first and only Faroese settlement abroad was to become a major international seaport, with decisive consequences for the history of Greenland .

As early as 1924, the Faroese received a visit from aviation pioneers with their seaplanes for the first time . While the first visit was overshadowed by an accident in which an American plane crashed south of the Faroe Islands but the crew was recovered, the second visit in the same year was more successful. The Italian aviation pioneer Locatelli hit the Nólysoyarfjørður on August 15, 1924 and moored at Tinganes . There was a crowd and many festivities. One had never seen an airplane up close before. It was not until 1928 that the Faroe Islands received another visit, this time from the German pioneer Wolfgang von Gronau , who flooded the Trongisvágsfjørður and flew to the Faroe Islands more frequently in the years that followed. The most famous aviation pioneers were Charles Lindbergh and his wife Anne Morrow Lindbergh in 1933. They also splashed down on Trongisvágfjørður and explored the North Atlantic route. ( see article Trongisvágsfjørður)

In 1937 the Faroe Islands got their first high school ( Føroya studentaskúli ) in Tórshavn. To this day it is the most important stepping stone for young people to further education, often for example at the University of Copenhagen . For practical reasons, too, the Danish government agreed in 1938 to set up the National Archives of the Faroe Islands to support the administrative work of the remote archipelago .

Second world war and autonomy

Memorial in Tórshavner Stadtpark for the 132 Faroese sailors and fishermen who remained at sea from 1940–1945

British sea cannon at Skansin Fortress , the headquarters of the garrison at that time, which consisted of up to 8,000 men.

→ Main articles : Faroe Islands in World War II , Faroese Constitutional Crisis  and Faroese Autonomy Act

During the Second World War , the Faroe Islands were occupied by Great Britain on April 12, 1940 for tactical reasons in order to forestall Germany. A curiosity of history is the unintended influence of the British on the decades-long dispute over the flag of the Faroe Islands . Perhaps the Faroese owe it to the sloop skipper Hans Mikkelsen that their flag was recognized on April 25, 1940 and is now flying on the oceans, because he was the first to be asked by the British to do something other than the (now hostile) Dannebrog to use at sea.

The British also built Vágar Airport and otherwise left the government of the islands to Løgting , which now suddenly - cut off from Copenhagen - was able to prove that the Faroe Islands can govern themselves.

The war meant that the Faroese would play a central role in supplying the British market with fish. For the first time, the islands made their own considerable fortune. This contributed to the belief that the Faroe Islands would be able to take care of their own affairs in the future.

On May 9, 1940, the Faroe Islands Provisional Government was established. The Faroe Islands now had their own legislative power, jurisdiction and monetary policy. At the end of the war it was clear that there could be no going back to the status of Danish office, so the provisional government was recognized by Denmark on October 27, 1945. On September 14, 1946, the Faroese carried out a referendum on their full sovereignty and, even with a turnout of 66.4%, voted in favor with a narrow majority (48.7% to 47.2%). At that time, the rebel Jákup í Jákupsstovu played a central role and was the only politician who consistently advocated separation. Denmark refused, but entered into negotiations, so that the islands enjoy extensive independence with the autonomy law of March 31, 1948.

The Faroese nation was thus recognized under international law, although there is still a need for interpretation in bilateral relations with Denmark. There are own Faroese passports, banknotes, postage stamps, license plates, and above all: the state government of the Faroe Islands as the executive branch and the Løgting as a modern parliament, which has acquired more and more powers. In the last instance, jurisdiction lies in Denmark, and security and foreign policy are still made in Copenhagen.

The first autonomous government was formed in 1948 under the new law and consisted of the unionist Sambandsflokkurin , the social democratic Javnaðarflokkurin and the left-wing liberal Sjálvstýrisflokkurin . These three parties were therefore also called Heimastýrisflokkarnir - the "autonomous government parties ". The first head of government was Andrass Samuelsen (1873–1954).

Second half of the 20th century

→ Main article : Faroe Islands in the Cold War

The 1950s

After the Løgting elections on November 8, 1950, there was a right-wing government made up of the conservative People's Party Fólkaflokkurin and the right-wing liberal unionists Sambandsflokkurin . This was remarkable in that both parties had (and still do) diametrically opposed attitudes towards breaking away from Denmark. Since the autonomous government was established, however, the separatists of the People's Party turned to other political issues, so that the left-right line of conflict now came to the fore in Faroese politics. Prime Minister was Kristian Djurhuus (1895 to 1984).

The Danish National Bank has been issuing its own Faroese banknotes since 1951: the Faroese krone is pegged 1: 1 to the Danish krone.

On December 3, 1952, the Faroe Islands were declared by Denmark that they were now part of NATO . Even before Denmark joined NATO in 1949 and afterwards, the Løgting decided that the Faroe Islands should remain neutral. However, the strategic position of the Faroe Islands in the Cold War seemed too important . In 1959 the Løgting decided to allow NATO to operate the radar station on Sornfelli near Mjørkadalur and the LORAN-C station in Eiði .

On June 5, 1953, the new Danish constitution came into force. Since then, together with the 1948 Autonomy Act, it has formed the Faroe Islands' constitution. Furthermore, at least two MPs are sent to the Folketing and the Danish king or the Danish queen is the head of state of the Faroe Islands.

The Løgtig elections on November 8, 1954 resulted in the electoral victory of the left-wing Republican Tjóðveldisflokkurin , who now had six instead of two seats in parliament. The chairman was Erlendur Patursson , who was also chairman of the Faroe Islands Fishermen's Association ( Føroya Fiskimannafelag ) and a leader of the fishermen's strikes in 1953 and 1954. Despite the success of the left, the right-wing government from 1950 under Kristian Djurhuus was able to continue, but this time with the help of the more left-wing liberal Sjálvstýrisflokkurin as a third coalition partner.

The Klaksvík uprising in 1955 was sparked by the comparatively banal dispute over the chief doctor there, Olav Halvorsen, a Dane who was accused of having worked with the Nazis during the occupation of Denmark and who should therefore be exchanged by the Danish authorities - in favor of one Faroese. The irony of history: Ironically, the Klaksvíkingers, who are considered the stronghold of the independence movement, militantly refused this intervention, which would actually have benefited a compatriot. Instead of a military confrontation (the port of Klaksvík was already mined, the inhabitants armed with rifles, 120 elite Danish police on the move), a compromise was only provisional in May. This did not end the uprising, however, it escalated again for a few days from the end of September to the beginning of October 1955 and finally after the conviction of the ringleaders in November with the assassination attempt on Prime Minister Kristian Djurhuus, which the latter survived unharmed.

In the Løgtings elections on November 8, 1958, the left-wing parties Tjóðveldisflokkurin and Javnaðarflokkurin won for the only time in Faroese history half of the Løgtings mandates (7 + 8 out of 30). Nevertheless, they could not form a government, and there was again the "autonomous government" constellation of 1948 of social democrats, unionists and the independence party. Head of government was Petur Mohr Dam (1898–1968).

economy

Such sloops were still used for fishing until the 1950s.

Helmsman on board a sloop.

The 1950s marked the end of the enormous economic growth of the 1940s through the war-related profits in the British fish market. Fish prices were stagnating as early as the late 1940s, and the saved credit was needed to renew the fishing fleet. To make matters worse, world market prices for raw materials and industrial goods rose significantly as a result of the Korean War. Many of the Faroese ships were outdated. It was also significant that many of the shipowners were so-called village owners ( bygdarreiðarí ) who primarily had the jobs in the village in mind but had no experience in ship management and no capital to withstand foreign competition. The vast majority of these village owners went bankrupt.

The Sjóvinnubankin ("Seewirtschaftsbank") financed most of the fishing industry at that time. The bank was thus directly affected when small shipowners and other fishing companies went bankrupt. There was also a pronounced nepotism in the bank. When it came to lending, little cared about the condition of the vessels or the experience of the village owners, and the management provided themselves with loans for their own fishing companies. The Sjóvinnubankin had to file for bankruptcy in 1951 and 1952. The government took up the matter and those responsible were sentenced to prison and fines.

After that, Sjóvinnubankin was rebuilt with millions in loans and deposits. The majority came from the Danish household. But the Marshall Plan also played an important role in rebuilding the Faroese economy. Of the 1.2 billion kroner Denmark received, 10 million went to the Faroe Islands. This financed a new fleet, as well as the hydroelectric power plant in Vestmanna , for example .

The Faroe Islands began to fish herring in the North Sea on a large scale .

Social

With the autonomy in 1948, the public supply, social security and accident insurance were taken over directly by the Faroese state. At that time about 1/7 of the state budget was used for social expenditure (today it is 1/3).

For most of the 1950s, Faroese society was in serious crisis. The bankruptcies of shipowners and fishing companies left 1,000 people unemployed. There was no unemployment benefit, and the need was correspondingly great for those who had to see for themselves how they get by. Many emigrated to Denmark, Iceland or Norway. Many of those who went to Denmark took their families with them and never came back to the Faroe Islands.

At the end of the 1950s there was another upswing. This also changed the awareness of the Faroese. If it was previously about simply surviving, now you wish for a better life. The unions now made further demands. Strikes fought for higher wages. Old-age and disability pensions and other social security systems were introduced.

The introduction of the welfare state is also seen as a consequence of the above-mentioned Klaksvík uprising and the Cold War. The USA then put pressure on Denmark to improve the situation in the Faroe Islands, because not only national independence efforts, but also social grievances were identified as the cause of the unrest.

Culture

The Faroese literature also transformed in the wake of the Cold War. While it was socially realistic in the 1930s and 1940s, an "inner emigration" took place in the 1950s, which led authors such as Karsten Hoydal , Jens Pauli Heinesen , William Heinesen and, last but not least, Regin Dahl to more psychological considerations of society.

The intellectual life of that time was marked by hard ideological conflicts. Anyone who traveled to the socialist countries and came back with positive reports could expect to be described as particularly "Un-Faroese" in the Faroese newspapers.

In the 1980s, the dispute over the spelling of the Faroese language also hardened. Finally, in 1954, the Løgting decided on the final spelling rules.

In 1957, Útvarp Føroya, the first national public broadcasting station, was founded. A Løgtingsgesetz regulates its competences. The radio immediately became common property among the people and became a unifying bond between all the Faroese, who for the first time all had the same information. With the radio, Faroese musical life gained momentum. Faroese long-playing records were released and songs like Eitt sunnukvøld í plantaguni… (“A Sunday evening in the city park…)” and Hvønn ein mánadag… (“Every Monday…”) created the first evergreens of modern Faroese popular music.

In the 1950s the Plymouth Brethren (Brethren Churches) saw a significant increase and were now very strong compared to other Nordic countries.

The 1960s

The 1960s were marked by the establishment of a welfare society in the Faroe Islands. They saw great growth in both exports and financial support from Denmark. As a result, radical political demands were greatly attenuated and a general de-politicization was the result.

After the elections on November 8, 1962, a left-wing coalition of Javnaðarflokkurin (8 seats) and Tjóðveldisflokkurin (6 seats) emerged. Together they would have had 14 out of 29 seats as a minority government . A coalition agreement had already been negotiated but did not come into force. Instead, Fólkaflokkurin formed under Hákun Djurhuus (1908-1987) the so-called "Independent Government " ( Sjálvstýrislandstýrið ) with the Tjóðveldisflokkurin, who was thus brought into government responsibility for the first time. But apart from a pronounced separatist rhetoric, nothing significant happened in this direction. The historians Petur Martin Rasmussen and Hanus A. Samuelsen said in Føroya Søgu (1965) that the main reason for the standstill was that the government partners could not agree on the financing of the takeover of Danish institutions.

After the elections on November 8, 1966, the formation of a government initially seemed hopeless, but an agreement was reached on the old pattern of the Hemstýrisflokkarnir (Social Democrats, Unionists, Independent Party).

The Faroe Islands' first tunnel was opened in 1963 on Suðuroy . It connects the main town Tvøroyri with Hvalba in the north. The number of tunnels is now almost 20.

As early as 1959, the Faroe Islands declared the expansion of territorial waters to a 12 nautical mile zone , which was measured from the coastline. Great Britain received a special permit that allowed them to fish up to the 6 nautical mile limit for 3 years; this regulation could be terminated with one year's notice. Although the British protested and threatened sanctions against the Faroe Islands, they set up the 12 nautical mile zone in 1964, starting from a straightened baseline. As a consequence, Great Britain introduced quotas for Faroese ice fish.

In 1968 the Faroe Islands were admitted to the EFTA .

economy

The trawler Magnus Heinason from 1961

The economic growth of the 1960s was largely based on the Marshall Plan . The old sloops and schooners were exchanged in favor of modern trawlers. This made year-round fishing possible. Most of the investments were made in line fishing off Greenland. The herring fishery that began in the 1950s increased sixfold in the years 1963–1967. Fish factories were built, but by 1970 herring stocks were overfished. New jobs were created on land, and exports rose by 100% in 1960–1969.

During the same period, the Danish subsidy grew by 394%, especially as it was believed that the kingdom's outskirts should also benefit from the new welfare state. In 1965/66, 45% of the public money invested in the Faroe Islands came from the Danish state.

Social

The fishing industry created new jobs for women who were increasingly entering the labor market.

The 1960s saw a significant rise in the Faroese standard of living. 1958–1973 the real wages of the workers doubled.

The women began to make demands for better treatment, but did not go so far as to demand social change and participation in political power. But more and more women flocked to the labor market. In the villages they worked in the fish factories and in Tórshavn in administration.

Economic growth led to an expansion of health, education and social services. The national hospital was built, the teacher training college was set up, the grammar school in Hoydalar was expanded, the University of the Faroe Islands ( Fróðskaparsetur Føroya 1965) founded, the Faroe Islands art museum (1970) opened, the Christian church (1963) built in Klaksvík, etc.

The employment of women in the labor market and year-round fishing resulted in migration from the villages to Tórshavn. The old rural village image disappeared more and more, and the households received amenities such as toilets, electric stoves, kitchen appliances and freezers.

Despite the economic growth, there was not room for everyone in Faroese society. Many young people emigrated to Denmark, most of them girls between the ages of 15-19. Few of them returned, and so there were soon more men than women in the Faroe Islands. One reason for this was that the service sector was still underdeveloped in the Faroe Islands, where there would have been jobs for young women. Added to this was the lack of support for single mothers and a social climate in which women were not trusted to look after themselves.

Culture

Hans Hansen , self-portrait, 1966.

In the 1960s, the visual arts of the Faroe Islands developed . Among other things, this was due to the fact that the fame of Sámal Mikines helped to abolish prejudices against the "breadless art". The construction of the art gallery (later the art museum) of the Faroe Islands was a sign of funding from the state government.

The university was established in 1965. At first only the Faroese language was taught, but it was to become a real university. Today every Faroese teacher is a graduate of this university.

Faroese literature in the mother tongue became more and more a matter of course. Modernism and neorealism spread to prose and poetry, and it became customary to deal with international topics in literature, such as the impending danger of nuclear war, the Vietnam War or the youth revolts.

New magazines came out and most of the parties had their own newspapers. In Copenhagen the newspapers Oyggjaframi, Oyggjaskeggi and the magazine Fjølnir appeared .

In 1963 the Volkskirche became a sub-bishopric. Before that, it was a provost's office for 400 years.

Musical life flourished in the 1960s. Most of the villages had their own bands based on the great models of British and American rock music. But there were also groups that sang in Faroese, such as the legendary Faroe Boys and Tey á Kamarinum .

The 1970s

First postage stamp from Postverk Føroya from 1976. It shows Merkið , the flag of the Faroe Islands. The stamp was drawn by Zacharias Heinesen .

In the Løgting elections on November 7, 1970 there was no major change, and the old coalition of Heimastýrisflokkarnir (Social Democrats, Unionists, Independence Party) was continued.

In 1970 the Faroe Islands received their own representation in the Nordic Council . Since then the flag of the Faroe Islands has been flying there on an equal footing with that of the other Scandinavian nations.

When Denmark joined the European Community in 1972 , the Faroe Islands refused to take this step by referendum in 1973 and the Løgtings decision in 1974. This status is still valid today. The reason for this is the sole dependence of the economy on fishing, especially in its own territorial waters.

After the election on November 7, 1974, an unprecedented coalition of Social Democrats, People's Party and Republicans was formed. The government advocated a greater takeover of competences that still belonged to Denmark. In 1975 responsibility for social and educational policy went from Denmark to the Faroese government.

Postverk Føroya was founded in 1976, taking over the postal service from Denmark. Since then it has had its own postage stamps - a not insignificant export factor and cultural mediator. Most of the people around the world who are particularly familiar with the Faroe Islands and their culture and history are likely to be the philatelists today .

By taking over these important public areas, the state government became the largest employer in the state.

The 1973 oil crisis also had an impact on the Faroe Islands, where oil had been handled very generously until then. The fishing fleet in particular was affected. In addition, there was a fall in fish prices in 1975, so that the fleet went on a “strike” in 1975 and blocked the port of Tórshavn for 10 days. The result was the establishment of a state “raw fish fund ” ( Ráfiskagrunnurin ), which was supposed to add extra money to every kilo of fish if the prices were too low. In return, if fish prices are high, you should pay into the fund. The free market economy was thus undermined in the fishing industry.

In 1976 there was a large demonstration against the presence of NATO in the Faroe Islands.

economy

The Smyril IV was put into operation in 1975 and not only improved connections among the Faroe Islands, but also with other countries.

The years 1970–1973 were the best economically since the war. The Faroe Islands experienced very high growth in exports, but the 1973 and 1979 oil crises brought the foreign trade balance back into balance.

The 200 nautical mile zone around the Faroe Islands has been in effect since 1977. In this way, the livelihood of the island nation was spatially secured. As a result, deep-sea fishing was largely relocated to its own territorial waters. However, there was a lower yield there, and the fleet had to be rebuilt according to the new conditions.

The state government began to take out loans abroad to cover the ever-increasing investments. Investments were made in new ships and fish factories, but also in the infrastructure on land. Among other things, the SMS shopping center was built in Tórshavn, and above all roads, tunnels and ports.

The bridge over the Sundini between Streymoy and Eysturoy was put into operation in 1973, which was a major event at the time. A new generation of the Smyril car ferry was purchased in 1975 and even went to Scotland, Norway, Denmark and Iceland in the summer.

Social

The Faroe Islands became a welfare society, and the standard of living was now on a par with neighboring Scandinavian countries. Up until the first oil crisis, people were optimistic about the future.

As an offshoot of the 1968 movement, the women's movement formed in the Faroe Islands . One of the main demands was equal pay for equal work. In 1977 a contract was negotiated between the union and the employers' association that women and men should be treated equally from May 1, 1981.

The women also fought against moral prejudice in Faroese society, which had a traditional image of women. They wanted to prove their independence, regardless of whether they were married or not. Women's clubs were founded to fight for the feminist cause.

Fundamental things happened in relation to people with disabilities. The disabled were sent to Denmark for almost 100 years, but a change of mind took place in the 1970s. In 1971 an association was founded to take care of the disabled and their families. Two years later the first mentally handicapped came back, and by 1980 most of them were back home.

A system of sick pay was introduced. The plan was for the country and employers alike to pay for it, but when the law came into effect it was ultimately only the country who had to bear the costs.

Culture

The new state library was inaugurated in 1979. All literature from the Faroe Islands and about the Faroe Islands is collected here.

Faroese cultural life continued to develop in the 1970s. In 1971, for example, 45 books were published in the Faroese language, and in 1977 the record company Tutl was founded by Kristian Blak , who was to have a lasting impact on Faroese musical life like no other.

Many new rock groups emerged and played dance music on the weekends. Most of them were English love songs, but there were also socially critical tones by Harkaliðið and Kári P. In Tórshavn there was the Perluni jazz cellar , but it fell into disrepute and was closed by the city council.

In schools, the Abitur was still done in Danish when the examiners were Danish and could not speak Faroese. In 1974 the students in Hoydalar demanded the exclusive use of Faroese in the Abitur. That was as far as possible, but not for the oral exams in social studies. Two students still spoke Faroese and therefore did not get their Abitur. The following year, twelve students refused to take their written biology exams in Danish. They also denied the opportunity to have the work translated as they did not want the translations to be evaluated instead of their original work. These twelve did not get their Abitur either.

From 1975 the university offered a master's degree in Faroese, but much was still written in Danish. For example, much of the Dimmalætting newspaper was still in Danish.

The literature of the 1980s was influenced by the left. Authors such as Hanus Andreassen , Alexandur Kristiansen and Jóanes Nielsen wrote about international politics, the situation on the labor market and socio-psychological topics.

In 1979 the National Library of the Faroe Islands moved into a new building.

The 1980s

Construction of the hydropower plant in Eiði began in 1984 and made the Faroe Islands less dependent on fossil fuels.

In 1980 the grand coalition of Social Democrats , Republicans and the People's Party that ruled the country for six years broke up . The rift arose between Social Democrats and Republicans on the one hand and the People's Party on the other, as to whether the Smyril should also go to Scotland in winter, which the People's Party was against .

In the new elections on November 8, 1980, the Unionists won one more seat while the Social Democrats lost one. It was a directional election campaign right-left, and as a result, a right-wing government of Unionists, People's Party and Sjálvstýrisflokkurin formed under Løgmaður Pauli Ellefsen of the Unionists. A short time later, the Smyril's winter voyages were stopped.

The new state government tripled the foreign debt of the Faroe Islands during its term of office. B. in cargo ships and the hydropower plant in Eiði . The latter was necessary after the Faroe Islands' energy demand had increased more and more. In addition, there was the will to become more independent of expensive oil. The project ended up costing 600 million crowns.

In the elections on November 8, 1984, the Social Democrats regained a seat in Løgting and became the strongest party. The People's Party also won a seat, while Samband and Sjálvstýri each lost one. The new government coalition consisted of Social Democrats, Republicans, Sjálvstýri and the newly founded Kristiligi Fólkaflokkurin (Christian People's Party). The government tried to get the economy under control, but it failed, and during its tenure, the external debt tripled again.

In the elections on November 8, 1988, the People's Party became the strongest force and formed a government with the Republicans, Sjálvstýri and the Christian People's Party under Jógvan Sundstein . The coalition was in crisis as early as 1989, and the unionists took the place of Sjálvstýri and the Christian People's Party.

On January 1, 1988, against the opposition of the Unionists, Denmark's permanent subsidies were converted into the annual so-called block subsidy , which enabled better control over the Faroese budget. This block grant still exists today (2007), but the plan is to overcome it entirely by 2015.

economy

With the economic boom of the 1980s, pollution also became an issue in the Faroe Islands for the first time. As a fishing nation, they are particularly dependent on keeping the seas clean. This stamp from Bárður Jákupsson 1986 shows the food chain from fish to squid to the pilot whale , which is traditionally a subsistence food supplement of the Faroese who are at the end of this chain.

The Faroe Islands, too, did not remain untouched by monetarism and supply policy, and so in the early 1980s the governing parties spoke of a necessary “system change”. The oil price peaked, which had a significant impact on the Faroese economy and economy. Danish loans poured into the Faroe Islands. In 1980–1988 the guarantees increased from DKK 269 ​​million to DKK 2,840 million. Both the banks and the customers benefited from this, because the lending rates in Denmark were lower than the credit rates in the Faroe Islands. In addition, only half of the interest income had to be taxed. While the lending business was booming, the state government lost enormous amounts of tax revenue.

Overall, the mountain of debt grew from DKK 1 billion in 1980 to DKK 8.5 billion in 1990.

A deep fall in the Faroese economy began in mid-1989 with the Faroe Islands' economic crisis . The gross domestic product fell by a third and around 10% of the population emigrated. If the Faroe Islands had previously been a full-employment country that had made it to the top of the world, unemployment has been a problem again since then .

In November 1987 the first Faroese airline, Atlantic Airways, was founded. The first regular flight took place the following year. Today Atlantsflog , as it is called in Faroese, has four passenger jets for scheduled and charter traffic.

Social

The steady population growth continued in the 1980s. However, it is above average in Tórshavn and the south of Eysturoy. In the mid-1980s, the municipality of Tórshavn had around 2000 requests for building plots. The city council tried to solve the problem by designating a new building area in Hoyvík where single-family and terraced houses were built. The great demand for living space drove up rents and land prices. Renting a room was almost unaffordable for young people, but cheap long-term loans were available for future homeowners.

Real wages rose by 15–20% in the 1980s, despite high prices. The fishermen received guaranteed collective wages that were continuously adjusted. Coastal fishermen who were not hired on any ship received a minimum wage from the land. In addition, there was a subsidy from the state treasury for every kilo of fish caught.

The economic growth in the 1980s fundamentally changed social conditions in the Faroe Islands. The great demand for labor led to a general extension of the weekly working hours. As a result, the situation of the sick and the elderly who were cared for at home deteriorated. To counter this grievance, old people's and nursing homes were set up. Nevertheless, the need for this could not be satisfied, and so a law was introduced according to which relatives should receive remuneration for care at home. This law was hotly contested, and critics said it would materialize family ties.

The need for day-care centers also increased, and when this could not be met, a system of municipal child minders was introduced.

The situation of women has been greatly improved by equating non-working mothers with working mothers and giving them 24 weeks of paid maternity leave. A fixed tax-free child benefit was paid out to all children between 1/2 and 16 years of age.

The situation of the disabled also improved when, in 1988, social assistance for the disabled was transferred from the Danish state to Faroese hands. It was ensured that they were allowed to live in smaller residential units, some of them in the countryside.

In 1988 new pension legislation was passed. After that, all residents of the Faroe Islands over 67 years of age were entitled to a minimum pension.

Culture

In 1983 the House of the North in Tórshavn was inaugurated. It is not only one of the most architecturally valuable buildings on the islands, but has also been the most important cultural center and social meeting place ever since. The Nordic Council is responsible for the house

In the 1980s, more emphasis was placed on material progress than on culture. For example, the import of motor vehicles grew significantly more than the publication of books.

The Faroese literature of the 1980's is predominantly neorealistisch (about Jóanes Nielsen and Oddvør Johansen ), realistic and modernist (about Lydia Didriksen and Hanus Andreassen ) and post-modern (about Rói Patursson and Tóroddur Poulsen ). For the first time women occupy a prominent position among authors and write most of Faroese prose. The highlight was the 1986 Nordic Council Literature Prize for Patursson's collection of poems Líkasum . It is the first (and so far only) work in the Faroese language to receive this prestigious award.

With the House of the North , the Faroe Islands received an international culture and congress center in 1983.

Since 1984 there has been a national television, Sjónvarp Føroya . It is also under public law and required by law to broadcast at least a third of the broadcast time in the Faroese language.

The Faroese language policy is through since 1985 Sprachrat institutionalized.

The rower Ove Joensen from Nólsoy caused a sensation in 1986 when he rowed his Faroe boat Diana Victoria from Nólsoy to Copenhagen. He made the 900 nautical miles in 41 days. The following year he had a fatal accident in local waters.

The hurricane of Christmas 1988 was violent even by Faroese standards. Roofs were covered, cars flew around and the Tórshavner Stadtpark , which has cultivated evidence for decades that there can be forest in the Faroe Islands if it is only spared by the sheep in sheltered corners - it was almost completely destroyed. Since then it has been reforested.

The 1990s

economy

The economic crisis that began in mid-1989 led to additional taxes, tariffs and savings. On September 12, 1990, the same day when the Faroese national football team introduced the Faroe Islands to the world with the sensational 1-0 win by Torkil Nielsen during their international match against Austria , a secret meeting between the Faroese state government and the Danish government took place in Copenhagen. There they asked for help to save the Faroese economy. Denmark asked the Faroese to make better arrangements and a month later put forward a plan to deal with the crisis. The governing coalition in Tórshavn disagreed and broke up on October 5th.

At the same time, the government of Poul Schlüter set up a group of experts, the Færøgruppen , to advise on how the Faroe Islands' liquidity problems could best be solved so that it cost the Danish state as little as possible.

In the Løgting elections on November 17, 1990, the Social Democrats became the strongest party and formed a coalition with the People's Party . Together they had 17 out of 32 seats.

In 1992 a trade agreement between the European Union and the Faroe Islands was signed, and control of the Faroese mineral resources ( oil is now suspected of being there ) passed from Copenhagen to the Faroe Islands on September 11th. This is generally considered to be Prime Minister Atli Dam's greatest political achievement .

On October 6, 1992, the Faroese autonomous government was placed under the administration of the new joint creditor - the Danish Ministry of Finance. As a result, the state government was severely restricted in its political freedom.

In April 1993 the previous government coalition broke up, and the Social Democrats now teamed up with the Sjálvstýrisflokkurin and the Republicans .

In 1993 the ongoing economic crisis culminated in the Faroe Islands banking scandal . Violent arguments between Tórshavn and Copenhagen were the result. Marita Petersen was the first woman to head the Faroese government at the time.

In the same year there were diplomatic conflicts with Great Britain, which began independently to search for oil within the Faroese territorial waters.

The new coalition only lasted until May 1994, when a Sjálvstýris MP resigned from the party and the coalition. New elections were announced for July 17th. The Social Democrats experienced a fiasco in the election and lost almost half of the votes. Relative election winners were the Unionists , who formed a coalition with Sjálvstýri, the Social Democrats and the Verkamannafylkingin . The latter was a re-establishment of disappointed Social Democrats and won 3 Løgting seats. There was soon internal party quarrels, and two of their MPs were expelled from the party, but they remained in the ruling coalition.

In 1994, Denmark eased debt management over the Faroe Islands. In 1995 the Løgting unanimously decided to bring the banking scandal to court. The majority of the Folketing was against it, so an expert commission was set up instead.

In 1996 the Social Democrats left the ruling coalition and the People's Party took over. The reason was the Social Democrats' rejection of a new government law, according to which Løgmaður got considerably more power than before (exactly as much as Løgting). In 1997 he dismissed a Sjálvstýri minister because he believed that he was working too much for his own interests on the Vágar tunnel project . As a result, Sjálvstýri withdrew from the coalition, making it a minority government, which was able to hold out for some time.

Many Faroese felt that the Danish side had taken advantage of them in the banking scandal. Polemics spoke of neocolonialism and the suppression of Faroese self-government. The Danish media contributed to making many Faroese feel degraded. Faroese television, Sjónvarp Føroya , ran a series on the banking scandal alleging a conspiracy between the Danish financial community, the government and their commission of experts. At the same time, the Faroese hope that oil will be discovered in their own territory.

In this climate, the two independence parties (Republicans and People's Party) won the elections on April 30, 1998. Both got 8 seats each in Løgting. On May 9th, together with Sjálvstýri, they formed the government that started with Kallsberg . The coalition agreement provided for the acquisition of full sovereignty for the Faroe Islands. The charismatic young republican Høgni Hoydal became a minister and deputy head of government.

On June 10, 1998, an agreement was reached in the banking scandal, even if the Faroese demands on Copenhagen were not fully realized. All special editions by the Danish tax authorities have been lifted. The state government was fully operational again and could, for example, again take out loans and vouch for them without asking Copenhagen for permission. The Danish national guarantee for the Faroese banks, which had existed since 1992, was also revoked. The Faroe Islands were given the opportunity to pay their debts to the Danish state on favorable terms. They also received compensation for the proven irregularities in the purchase of Føroya Banki .

Social

The Faroe Islands have had their own social legislation since 1995.

Culture

In 1990 the Faroe Islands received the Kongsbók back from Sweden , the oldest manuscript of the sheep letter from 1298.

In 1992, Marita Petersen relaxed the strict alcohol legislation in the Faroe Islands. Since then, beer and spirits have been freely available in state shops.

The film Barbara by Nils Malmros , the film adaptation of Jørgen-Frantz Jacobsen's world-famous Faroese novel, premiered in 1997 in Tórshavn. The cinema there was booked out for weeks.

In 1998 the first native Faroese dictionary ( Føroysk orðabók ) was published with over 65,000 headwords. After a total of forty years of preparatory work, the Faroe Islands were the last Nordic nation to receive a dictionary in their own language only. The head of the project was Prof. Jóhan Hendrik Winther Poulsen , the “language guru” of the Faroe Islands.

21st century

The 2000s

The new state government was preparing the Faroe Islands' final independence, but in 2000 it ended in fiasco: The referendum on this matter planned for 2001 was called off because no clear majority was to be expected in the Faroe Islands. In 2002 there were new elections. In the beginning Kallsberg won from Fólkaflokkurin , but the alliance with the Republicans quickly broke, so that new elections took place in 2004 and since then a Social Democrat, Jóannes Eidesgaard, has been in charge of the country again.

In June 2002 the Faroe Islands received the famous church stalls carvings from Kirkjubøur , one of the Faroe Islands' greatest cultural heritage, from Danish ownership.

In the 20th century, Faroese literature and visual arts were the dominant factors in the country's cultural development and outward communication, but in the last 10-15 years more and more Faroese musicians have appeared on the world's stages - with Kristian Blak and his label Tutl as the mentor of the scene. Important music events are the Prix ​​Føroyar and the G! Festival . Teitur Lassen is now an international star. Gudrun Solja Jacobsen experienced in 2004 its surprising breakthrough towards the young Danish vocal elite in the popular Danish TV competition "Stjerne for en aften".

In 2002 Sunleif Rasmussen was the first Faroese to win the Nordic Council Music Prize with the first Faroese symphony Oceanic Days (1995–1997).

The year 2005

In February 2005, the Faroese Person of the Year ( Ársins Føroyingur ) award was presented for the first time . A top-class jury from politics, culture, sport and science selected the young singer Eivør Pálsdóttir as the outstanding person in the country, who “has marked the Faroe Islands in the most positive way on the world map with her songs”.

Fámjin Treaty : “Brothers on an equal footing”. The Danish Foreign Minister together with Løgmaður on March 29, 2005.

On March 29, Jóannes Eidesgaard and Danish Foreign Minister Per Stig Møller opened a “new chapter in the history of the Faroe Islands” when they signed the Fámjin Treaty. The Faroe Islands now have the legal right to be represented as an associated member in all international organizations (which their statutes permit) and to set up their own embassies in all diplomatic institutions in Denmark. The Faroese flag and the coat of arms can be used equally.

On April 4th, Eidesgaard and the Danish Minister of State, Anders Fogh Rasmussen , signed the joint declaration on the formulation of the Faroese takeover law in Copenhagen . As a first step, Vágar Airport was taken over by the Faroese state on the same day . The takeover law was passed by Løgting on May 14th. At Ólavsøka , Jóannes Eidesgaard announced that the Faroe Islands want to rejoin EFTA .

In June, Queen Margrethe , Prince Henrik , Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary visited the Faroe Islands.

On August 31, the Faroe Islands took the furthest step in foreign policy in their history when they decided on a joint economic zone with Iceland. On September 2, all mutual tariffs and trade restrictions were lifted.

On November 1st the new car ferry Smyril started its service between Tórshavn and Suðuroy.

History of the Faroe Islands

An important cornerstone for historical research on the Faroe Islands was initially the establishment of the Faroe Islands State Library from 1828 by the governor Christian Ludvig Tillisch . Today it has the world's largest collection of relevant books and manuscripts on the subject.

The History Museum of the Faroe Islands goes back to the historical collection since 1898. Not only the essential findings of archeology are presented here, but also many objects from recent history.

The University of the Faroe Islands has history and social science as one of its three faculties. Her research is currently particularly concerned with national history since 1939, the history of grindadráp , alcohol consumption and health care, and examines the question of the conditions of a small nation with its own politics, its labor market, financial conditions and economic activities. The history of the country is generally conveyed in the teaching of the faculty. Your publications appear as newspaper articles, in scientific journals and books.

See also

• Church history of the Faroe Islands
• List of kings over the Faroe Islands
• Faroese literature
• Statistics on the pilot whale catch in the Faroe Islands

literature

See also : Portal: Faroe Islands / Bibliography

• Norbert B. Vogt: The Faroe Islands - a short chronicle , 2003 ( PDF )
• John F. West : Faroe. The Emergence of a Nation. C. Hurst & Co., London / Paul S. Eriksson, New York 1972, ISBN 0-8397-2063-7 (standard work).
• GVC Young: From the Vikings to the Reformation. Shearwater Press, Isle of Man 1979 (chronicle to 1538).
• James Proctor: Faroe Islands . The Bradt Travel Guide. England, USA, 2004 ISBN 1-84162-107-2 (travel guide with history, pp. 10-17).

In Danish

• Heini Madsen: Færøernes hvornår skete det Støvring, Skúvanes, 1999 ( out of print )
• Elin Súsanna Jacobsen: “Færøernes Historie - en oversigt”. In: Færøerne i dag , Kópavogur (Iceland): Printskill, 2006 ISBN 9979-9708-9-8 (pp. 25–40) (the local author is a historian at the University of the Faroe Islands)

In Faroese

• Hans A. Djurhuus Føroya søga. Eitt stutt yvirlit . Tórshavn: Felagið Varðin, 1924 (pioneering work. Extended edition 1952, new edition 1963)
• Hans Jacob Debes : Føroya søga . Tórshavn: Føroya Skúlabókagrunnur, 1990. (three volumes. Info: Volume 1 , Volume 2 , Volume 3 )
• Hans Jacob Debes: Nú er tann hour… Tjóðskaparrørsla og sjálvstýrispolitikkur til 1906 . Tórshavn: Føroya Skúlabókagrunnur, 1982. (National movement until 1906. Info )
• Markos Jiménéz, Dánial Hoydal : Føroya krønika . Tórshavn: Bókadeild Føroya Lærarafelags, 2003 ( info )
• Kári Jespersen and Jens Pauli A. Nolsøe: Føroya søga 1940–1998 - Tráður til keldusavn . Føroya Skúlabókagrunnur 2000, Internet edition 2005

Web links

Commons : History of the Faroe Islands  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Wikisource: Faroe Islands  - Sources and full texts

• FO-DK.dk - Historien om rigsfællesskabet mellem Færøerne og Danmark kort (in Danish. It deals with the history of Faroese-Danish relations)
• Setur.fo - University of the Faroe Islands (English and Faroese)
• Faroestamps.fo - Faroese History (a lot in German)
• Faroeislands.com - "Historical Perspective"

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Natives surprised Vikings on the Faroe Islands , in: Spiegel online, September 9, 2013.
2. ↑ Dicuili: Liber the mensura orbis terrae . Dublin 1967 (pp. 75–76)
3. ↑ [1] Article from Spiegel Online. Retrieved September 10, 2013.
4. ↑ Færøerne i dag p. 9
5. ↑ Færøerne i dag p. 25
6. ↑ Færøerne i dag , p. 26
7. ^ Proctor, p. 20
8. ↑ Færøerne i dag p. 27
9. ↑ Færøerne i dag p. 29
10. ↑ Færøerne i dag p. 31
11. ↑ Álmanakkin 2008 . 80th year, p. 21
12. ↑ Færøerne i dag , p. 35
13. ↑ Jógvan Isaksen : Mellem middel alder og modernitet. Omkring William Heinesen's prose. 2004
14. ^ Færøerne i dag. P. 37
15. ↑ Hans J. Debes: "Føroyskur politikkur". In: Oyggjarskeggi , January 1970

This version was added to the list of articles worth reading on August 15, 2005 .