St Olav’s Church: the small stone church at the medieval heart of the Faroe Islands, still in use nearly nine centuries on
A Kirkjubøur, sull’isola di Streymoy, nelle Isole Fær Øer, la Chiesa di Sant’Olav è tradizionalmente datata al 1111, anno in cui il primo vescovo færøese assunse la sua sede proprio a Kirkjubøur, sebbene le fonti più caute la collochino più genericamente entro il XII secolo, e almeno una fonte enciclopedica farøese la datino invece al XIII secolo; resta comunque, secondo tutte le fonti, la chiesa più antica delle Fær Øer ancora in piedi e tra le più antiche chiese ancora in uso regolare nei paesi nordici. Kirkjubøur fu il centro ecclesiastico delle Fær Øer per tutto il medioevo: la diocesi farøese, istituita intorno al 1100, vi ebbe sede fino alla Riforma, quando l’ultimo dei trentaquattro vescovi cattolici, Ámundur Ólavsson, fu deposto nel 1538. Accanto alla chiesa sorge Kirkjubøargarður, la “fattoria del re”, descritta come una delle case di legno abitate più antiche al mondo, risalente all’incirca all’XI secolo e abitata dalla stessa famiglia Patursson dal 1550; poco distante si trovano le rovine della Cattedrale di Magnus, la cui costruzione iniziò verso il 1300 sotto il vescovo Erlendur e che, a lungo ritenuta mai completata, secondo ricerche più recenti potrebbe essere stata effettivamente coperta e brevemente in uso prima di cadere in rovina dopo la Riforma: resta comunque il più grande edificio medievale delle Fær Øer. La chiesa di Sant’Olav, costruita in pietra a secco intonacata di bianco su entrambi i lati, in stile romanico con aggiunte gotiche successive, misura circa 21,8 metri di lunghezza per 7,5 di larghezza; fu restaurata più volte, in particolare negli anni 1870 e di nuovo nel 1966-67, quando l’edificio fu riportato più vicino al proprio aspetto medievale, mentre alcuni schienali di panca intagliati nel XV secolo, rimossi verso il Museo Nazionale danese nel 1875, sono tornati alle Fær Øer nel 2002. Contrariamente a quanto talvolta si legge, né la chiesa né il sito di Kirkjubøur figurano attualmente nella Lista Indicativa UNESCO della Danimarca, che non comprende alcun sito farøese: le Isole Fær Øer non hanno, ad oggi, alcun sito iscritto o candidato al Patrimonio Mondiale UNESCO. La chiesa resta l’unica chiesa medievale delle Fær Øer ancora in uso regolare, parrocchia attiva della Chiesa luterana farøese.
About St Olav’s Church
At Kirkjubøur, on the island of Streymoy in the Faroe Islands, St Olav’s Church is traditionally dated to 1111, the year the first Faroese bishop took up his seat at Kirkjubøur, though more cautious sources place it more broadly within the 12th century, and at least one Faroese encyclopedic source dates it instead to the 13th century; it remains, according to every source, the oldest standing church in the Faroe Islands and among the oldest still in regular use anywhere in the Nordic countries. Kirkjubøur was the ecclesiastical centre of the Faroe Islands throughout the Middle Ages: the Faroese diocese, established around 1100, was seated there until the Reformation, when the last of its thirty-four Catholic bishops, Ámundur Ólavsson, was deposed in 1538. Beside the church stands Kirkjubøargarður, the “King’s Farm,” described as one of the oldest still-inhabited wooden houses in the world, dating to roughly the 11th century and home to the same Patursson family since 1550; nearby lie the ruins of Magnus Cathedral, begun around 1300 under Bishop Erlendur and long believed never completed, though more recent research suggests it may have actually been roofed and briefly used before falling into ruin after the Reformation — it remains the largest medieval building in the Faroe Islands. St Olav’s Church, built of dry stone plastered white on both sides in Romanesque style with later Gothic additions, measures roughly 21.8 metres long by 7.5 metres wide; it was restored several times, notably in the 1870s and again in 1966-67, when the building was brought closer to its medieval appearance, while 15th-century carved pew ends, removed to the National Museum of Denmark in 1875, were returned to the Faroe Islands in 2002. Contrary to what is sometimes reported, neither the church nor the Kirkjubøur site currently appears on Denmark’s UNESCO Tentative List, which includes no Faroese entries: the Faroe Islands have, as of now, no sites inscribed on or nominated to the UNESCO World Heritage List. The church remains the only medieval church in the Faroe Islands still in regular use, an active parish of the Faroese Lutheran Church.
Key facts
- c. 1111/12th century: the church’s traditional construction date, disputed in precision across sources
- 1111-1538: Kirkjubøur serves as the seat of the Faroese Catholic diocese
- Kirkjubøargarður, the adjoining farmhouse, among the oldest inhabited wooden houses in the world
- Magnus Cathedral ruins nearby, begun c. 1300, the largest medieval building in the Faroe Islands
- Restored notably in the 1870s and again in 1966-67
- Not currently on any UNESCO World Heritage list or tentative list
History
Kirkjubøur’s three surviving medieval structures — the still-used church, the still-inhabited farmhouse, and the unfinished cathedral ruins — together preserve an unusually complete picture of the ecclesiastical and secular power that once concentrated here as the Faroe Islands’ medieval religious capital. St Olav’s own continuous use for roughly eight centuries, through Catholic bishoprics, the Reformation, and multiple restorations, makes it a rare architectural survivor of a religious landscape otherwise reduced, at Magnus Cathedral next door, to ruins.
What you see
A small, white-plastered stone church, Romanesque in origin with later Gothic touches, stands beside the weathered wooden Kirkjubøargarður farmhouse and, a short distance away, the roofless stone walls of Magnus Cathedral. Together the three buildings form one of the most complete surviving medieval ecclesiastical complexes anywhere in the North Atlantic.
Practical information
- Opening hours: generally open daily outside services; check current hours before visiting
- Address: Kirkjubøur, Streymoy, Faroe Islands
Getting there
Kirkjubøur lies on the southern tip of Streymoy, a short drive from Tórshavn. GPS: 61°57′06″N, 6°47′36″W.
Nearby
- Magnus Cathedral ruins — the unfinished medieval cathedral beside the church
- Kirkjubøargarður — the historic farmhouse, among the oldest inhabited wooden buildings in the world
- Tórshavn — the Faroese capital, a short drive away
Sources
- Wikipedia — “Saint Olav’s Church, Kirkjubøur” and “Kirkjubøur” (en.wikipedia.org)
- Trap.fo — Faroese national heritage encyclopedia, English section
- Visit Faroe Islands — official tourism site
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