Vágur
Vágur meaning "Bay" () is a town on the island of Suðuroy, part of the Faroe Islands It is situated on the east coast of the island on the Vágsfjørður fjord, and was founded in the fourteenth century. Expansion has meant that the nearby town of Nes is now a suburb of Vágur. Vágur has a sports hall next to the football grounds on Eiðinum, near Vágseiði, a swimming pool by the school and a clinic which offers the services of doctors, nurses and dentists. There is also a hotel, one bank and various shops. The port area, which is  14 m in depth, is situated on the northern part of the fjord. The port authorities can offer services of piloting (lods), water and fire-fighting, and in connection with the harbour there is a modern fish factory and auctioneers for fish. Salmon farming is also a part of the fish industry in Vágur, this includes salmon farm rings on the fjord and in other places near the east coast of Suðuroy and a salmon factory. The town has a slipway, a fleet of fishing vessels and a filleting factory. History. Nólsoyar Páll Memorial. There is a memorial near the  main road through Vágur commemorating the efforts of Nólsoyar Páll, the nineteenth-century poet and captain of "Royndin Fríða" (Beautiful Trial). He believed that the monopoly trading scheme was seriously restricting the economic potential of the Faroe Islands and set about organising opposition and resistance to it. Although he failed to abolish the monopolies, his actions were the start of a process which eventually led to the abolition of monopoly trading in 1856. The memorial was erected in memory of the fact that in 1804 on this spot, now called Fløtan Fríða, the first Faroese ship since the Middle Ages  was built. The text on the memorial says: "Her á Fløtuni Fríðu bygdu Nólsoyar Páll, Jákup bóndi í Toftum, Per bóndi í Gjørðum og aðrir í 1804 Føroya fyrsta skip Royndina Fríðu." - "Here on Fløtan Fríða Nólsoyar Páll, Jákup bóndi í Toftum (a farmer from Toftir in Vágur), Per bóndi í Gjørðum (a farmer from Gjørðum in Porkeri) and others built the first Faroese ship, "Royndin Fríða"." First Faroese hydroelectric power plant. The first hydroelectric power station in the Faroe Islands was built in Botni northwest of Vágur in 1921, partly to power the ship cableway in Vágseiði. It is  now supplemented by a modern diesel power station on the south side of the fjord. Tourism. The tourist attractions include a wide variety of excursions during the summer. Amongst other things on offer is a boat trip on the old fishing boat, Jóhanna TG 326, west around the island to an area where birds flock and nest by the thousand, close to the world's steepest cliff, Beinisvørð. Hiking trips are arranged every summer by the Tourist Information. There is a Ruth Smith Art Museum in Vágur. It doesn't have regular opening hours, but there are phone number which  visitors can call to. The Ruth Smith Art Gallery is situated in the western part of the village of Vágur in a yellow building on the mainstreet Vágsvegur 101. For visitors arriving by boat, Vágur is situated 61° 21' north and 06° 49' west. Notable landmarks. Eggjarnar. Eggjarnar is high up in the mountains south west of Vágur. A road leads all the way up there because a Loran C radio navigation station was built there during World War II. Vágseiði. Vágseiði was used as a second harbor for the men of Vágur, when the wind came from  east and the eastern harbor could not be used. Vágseiði has also been used to dump garbage into the sea, but that stopped many years ago. Now all garbage is gathered and burnt by IRF. Porkeri Mountains. Porkeri Mountains are the hills north of Vágur, named after the village of Porkeri. Sports. Vágur had a football club, which was called VB, it was founded in 1905. In 2005 VB merged with Sumba ÍF to VB/Sumba and in 2010 they founded a new football club, which is called FC Suðuroy. But VB is not completely history yet, the VB women  still play handball using the name VB. VB is short for Vágs Bóltfelag. Vágur has a famous swimmer, Pál Joensen, a Freestyle swimmer, won 3 gold medals at the 2008 European Junior Swimming Championships. He has also won gold later, swimming with the adults in 2009 in Moscow and 2010 in South Africa. In August 2010 he won silver at the European Swimming Championships on long course. Pál Joensen is swimming with Susvim, which is a swimming club for Suðuroy. There is a rowing club in Vágur, which is called Vágs Kappróðrarfelag. They have wooden rowing boats in all sizes : Vágbingur is a 10-mannafar, Toftaregin is an 8-mannafar, Smyril is a 6-mannafar and Royndin Fríða is a 5-mannafar. Politics. Municipal council. Vágur's municipal council consists of 9 members, elected every four years.