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Vesturkirkjan (Church of Western Tórshavn)

  • Vesturkirkjan
  • Vesturkirkjan

Vesturkirkjan, which was consecrated in 1975, has become a part of the Tórshavn townscape. It resembles a sailboat in shape, and its 41-metre tower probably makes it the tallest building in the Faroe

Inside the church, the height really comes into its own, architecturally, where the space above the altar carries the gaze higher and higher and stirs up ideas of eternity. Some see this as a reference to Jacob’s ladder leading to heaven. Others interpret the play of light on the altar as the struggle between the light and darkness at Calvary.
In 2006, a monument depicting Sigmundur Brestisson, by the sculptor Hans Pauli Olsen, was set up in the small grove in front of the church. According to Faroese saga, Sigmundur forcibly Christianised the Faroe Islands around the year 1000.

ARCHITECTURE AND SPECIAL FURNISHINGS
By and large, the church is simple and pure in style. The interplay between the white stonewalls and black stone tiles give the church a special atmosphere.
The pulpit and baptismal font are, like the floor, made of Portuguese stone.
A small golden cross, made by the Danish goldsmith and painter Bent Exner (1932-2006), decorates the altar.
Above the altar hangs a larger axe-cut cross made of untreated oak.
The story goes that a man in his eighties did the cutting.

Vesturkirkjan has two bells. One bears the inscription: “Vakrast er tá smábørn
syngja Og tá kirkjuklokkur ringja” (Most lovely is the sound of children singing and the church bells ringing).

The other is inscribed: “Málmsløg ljóða
Klokkur bjóða Vítt um vallar Harrin Kallar” (The sound of striking on ore, The bells summon, Far-reaching, The Lord calls.)

Address

Landavegur 44

Tórshavn