Skúvoy, Island in the Faroe Islands
Skúvoy is a small island in the southern Faroe Islands, with no roads or vehicles, where a single village sits sheltered behind a high ridge. The land is mostly grass and gentle slopes that drop away to steep cliffs along the coast.
The island has been settled since around the year 1000, when the first church in the Faroe Islands was built here. Over the following centuries, the community survived the Black Death in the 14th century and a smallpox outbreak in the 18th century.
Skúvoy takes its name from the Skúgvur, the Great Skua, a seabird that breeds on the island's steep cliffs. Visitors walking near the coast often spot these birds flying low overhead, especially in the nesting season.
The island is reached by a small passenger ferry from Sandur on Sandoy, with a crossing of about 30 minutes. There are no shops and very few services on the island, so visitors should bring everything they need.
The church built in 1937 faces south and north rather than east, which is unusual for Christian churches. Near the old church ruins, the grave of Sigmundur Brestisson, a Viking chieftain central to early Faroese history, can also be found in a small graveyard.
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