Sandur

Sandur is the main settlement of Sandoy and takes its name from the sand: a rare beach at the head of its bay, with dunes and a lake behind. Excavation under the church in the 1960s found the remains of five earlier churches stacked on the same spot, the oldest from around the eleventh century, and a hoard of 98 eleventh-century silver coins had already turned up in the churchyard in 1863. The present building dates from 1839. Two lakes behind the village hold waterfowl.

History

Sandur, "sandy beach", was the meeting place of the local Várting assembly, held here every year. Excavations have found an 11th-century stave church beneath the present grass-roofed wooden church, and in 1863, while the churchyard was being extended, a hoard of 98 silver coins of the 11th century, half of them German, came to light; in 1989 archaeologists also found a pagan burial ground of the Viking period, including the grave of a woman with amber beads, a blue glass bead and a knife. The church, burned by an arsonist in 1988, was restored the following year in time for its 150th anniversary, and an 18th-century water mill from Sandur stands in the open-air museum of the Danish National Museum near Copenhagen (Wikipedia, Sandur, Faroe Islands).

What to look for

• The church site - five earlier churches found stacked beneath the 1839 building.
• The sand bay - the beach and dunes the village is named for.
• The lakes - the freshwater bodies behind the village with waterfowl.
• The coin hoard - the eleventh-century silver coins found in the churchyard in 1863.

When to go

May to September is the season. The Sandoy tunnel has made access much easier than the old ferry. Winter is quiet and windy.

Things to know

The archaeology is under the floor and is not on display; the church is an ordinary parish building. Facilities on Sandoy are limited. The beach is cold and exposed.

Nearby

Husavik is southeast, and Skuvoy is southwest.

Key facts