The restauration of Við Áir whaling station is expected to finish in 2025, but visitors can follow the work in progress on weekends during summertime. Photo: Aarhus School of Architecture, Jan Buthke & Robert B. Trempe Jr.
Stories of nature and culture woven together Waterfalls, steep cliffs, jaw-dropping views and grass roofed houses... The Faroe Islands are famous for being a feast for the eyes – and for having more sheep than inhabitants. Located in the North Atlantic Ocean between Iceland and Norway, the group of volcanic islands is remote, but far from short of natural and cultural history to discover – a history that is carefully woven together by the National Museum of the Faroe Islands. By Camilla Pedersen
The museum lets the story unfold across different locations. “We offer visitors the chance to dive into various aspects of Faroese history, culture, geology and wildlife – all the things that did and still do shape the Faroese islands and their people,” says museum director Herleif Hammer. And new chapters are constantly being written. One of the projects currently in the works is the restoration 24 | Issue 135 | April/May 2020
of Við Áir whaling station, which dates back to 1905. The restoration project is expected to finish in 2025, but is open on weekends from June until August to let curious visitors see how the restoration is coming along. “Whaling was the first commercial industry here on the Faroe Islands. It generated jobs, meat for the locals,
sought-after oil – nothing went to waste. This is the last Faroese whaling station standing out of a total of seven, and luckily, all buildings and machines are still there. But what makes it even more special is that it’s also the only one of its kind in the entire northern hemisphere. Though controversial, whaling has been an important part of our story – and that’s why the whaling station is worth preserving. The future museum will offer visitors a guided tour through the station, while also touching on the biology and life cycle of the whales.”
Faroese gold Sheep have been equally important to the survival of Faroese people, if not more – and not only because they mow