THE FAROE ISLANDS, SELF-GOVERNING SINCE 1948

Today, The Grandma has received the wonderful visit of one of her closest friends, Claire Fontaine. Claire and The Grandma travelled to the Faroe Islands some years ago, and they have been talking about that travel to commemorate that on a day like today in 1948, the Faroe Islands gained autonomy from Denmark.

The Faroe Islands or just Faroes is a North Atlantic archipelago located 320 kilometres north-northwest of Scotland, and about halfway between Norway and Iceland. Like Greenland, it is an autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark. The islands have a total area of about 1,400 square kilometres with a population of 52,703 as of September 2020.

The terrain is rugged; the climate is subpolar oceanic climate (Cfc) -windy, wet, cloudy, and cool. Temperatures average above freezing throughout the year because of the Gulf Stream. As a result of the moderation and the northerly latitude, summers normally hover around 12° C. Average temperatures are 5 °C in winter. The northerly latitude location also results in perpetual civil twilight during summer nights and very short winter days.

Between 1035 and 1814, the Faroe Islands were part of the Kingdom of Norway, which was in a personal union with Denmark from 1450.

In 1814, the Treaty of Kiel transferred Norway to the King of Sweden, on the winning side of the Napoleonic Wars, whereas Denmark retained the Faroe Islands, along with Greenland and Iceland.

While part of the Kingdom of Denmark, the Faroe Islands have been self-governing since 1948, controlling most areas apart from military defence, policing, justice, currency, and foreign affairs.

More information: The Government of The Faroe Islands

Because the Faroe Islands are not part of the same customs area as Denmark, the country has an independent trade policy, and can establish trade agreements with other states. The Faroes have an extensive bilateral free trade agreement with Iceland, known as the Hoyvík Agreement. In the Nordic Council, they are represented as part of the Danish delegation. In certain sports, the Faroe Islands field their own national teams.

In spite of only having one laureate, the Faroe Islands currently have the most Nobel laureates per capita worldwide.

In Faroese, the name appears as Føroyar. Oyar represents the plural of oy, older Faroese for island. Due to sound changes, the modern Faroese word for island is oyggj. The first element, før, may reflect an Old Norse word fær (sheep), although this analysis is sometimes disputed because Faroese now uses the word seyður, from Old Norse sauðr, to mean sheep. Another possibility is that the Irish monks, who settled the island around 625, had already given the islands a name related to the Gaelic word fearrann, meaning land or estate. This name could then have been passed on to the Norwegian settlers, who then added oyar (islands). The name thus translates as either Islands of Sheep or Islands of Fearrann.

More information: The Official Gateway of The Faroe Islands

In Danish, the name Færøerne contains the same elements, though øerne is the definite plural of ø (island).

In English, it may be seen as redundant to say the Faroe Islands, since the oe comes from an element meaning island. This is seen in the BBC Shipping Forecast, where the waters around the islands are called Faeroes. The name is also sometimes spelled Faeroe.

Archaeological evidence shows settlers living on the Faroe Islands in two successive periods before the Norse arrived, the first between 300 and 600 and the second between 600 and 800.

Scientists from the University of Aberdeen have also found early cereal pollen from domesticated plants, which further suggests people may have lived on the islands before the Vikings arrived.

Archaeologist Mike Church noted that Dicuil mentioned what may have been the Faroes. He also suggested that the people living there might have been from Ireland, Scotland, or Scandinavia, possibly with groups from all three areas settling there.

More information: Independent

Norsemen settled the islands c. 800, bringing Old West Norse, which evolved into the modern Faroese language. According to Icelandic sagas such as Færeyjar Saga, one of the best known men on the island was Tróndur í Gøtu, a descendant of Scandinavian chiefs who had settled in Dublin, Ireland. Tróndur led the battle against Sigmund Brestursson, the Norwegian monarchy and the Norwegian church. 

The 1946 Faroese independence referendum resulted in 50.73% in favour of independence to 49.27% against. The Faroe Islands subsequently declared independence on 18 September 1946; however, this declaration was annulled by Denmark on 20 September on the grounds that a majority of the Faroese voters had not supported independence and King Christian X of Denmark dissolved the Faroese Løgting on 24 September. The dissolution of the Løgting was on 8 November followed by the Faroese parliamentary election of 1946 in which the parties in favour of full independence received a total of 5,396 votes while the parties against received a total of 7,488 votes.

As a reaction to the growing self-government and independence movements, Denmark finally granted the Faroe Islands home-rule with a high degree of local autonomy on 30 March 1948.

More information: The Guardian

In 1973 the Faroe Islands declined to join Denmark in entering the European Economic Community, later absorbed into the European Union. The islands experienced considerable economic difficulties following the collapse of the fishing industry in the early 1990s.

Faroese is spoken in the entire area as a first language. It is difficult to say exactly how many people worldwide speak the Faroese language, because many ethnic Faroese live in Denmark, and few who are born there return to the Faroes with their parents or as adults.

Faroese belongs to the Germanic branch of Indo-European languages. Written Faroese, grammar and vocabulary, is most similar to Icelandic and to their ancestor Old Norse, though the spoken language is closer to Norwegian dialects of Western Norway. As stipulated in section 11 in the Home Rule Act from 1948 passed into law in both Faroese and Danish parliaments, Faroese is the first official language of the island while Danish, the second, is taught in schools and can be used by the Faroese government in public relations.

Faroese language policy provides for the active creation of new terms in Faroese suitable for modern life.

More information: Time Out

Kráku tykir best um unga sín.

A chicken likes her own eggs best.

Faroese proverb

THE WATSONS VISIT DENMARK, CORAIMA'S COUNTRY

Arriving to the Copenhagen Airport Kastrup

Today, in the morning, The Watsons have been preparing their next travel to Denmark. They have written budgets and some plannings to stay the next five days in Coraima's country.

The Grandma has also explained the importance of Sant Boi de Llobregat as a sanctuary city for European minorities during the Middle Age, especially gipsies and cathars.

Denmark, in Danish Danmark, is a Nordic country in Northwest Europe.

Denmark proper, which is the southernmost of the Scandinavian countries, consists of a peninsula, Jutland, and an archipelago of 443 named islands, with the largest being Zealand, Funen and the North Jutlandic Island. The islands are characterised by flat, arable land and sandy coasts, low elevation and a temperate climate. The southernmost of the Scandinavian nations, Denmark lies southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and is bordered to the south by Germany. The Kingdom of Denmark also includes two autonomous territories in the North Atlantic Ocean: the Faroe Islands and Greenland.

During the flight from Barcelona to Copenhagen, the family has been studying some English grammar. They have practised Prepositions of Time (In-On-At) and they have played some word games like Scatergories, The Bomb, The Hanger and Simon.

More information: Prepositions of Time (In-On-At)

More information: How to Create a Budget

More information: How to Create an Effective Action Plan

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In the evening, they have arrived to the Villa Copenhagen, the hotel where they are going to stay during these five days in Denmark.

At night, they have gone to rest waiting to live an amazing experience in the country of Hans Andersen, the most popular tales writer.

More information: Villa Copenhagen Hotel

Copenhagen, in Danish København, is the capital and most populous city of Denmark. It forms the core of the wider urban area of Copenhagen and the Copenhagen metropolitan area.

Copenhagen is situated on the eastern coast of the island of Zealand; another small portion of the city is located on Amager, and it is separated from Malmø, Sweden, by the strait of Øresund. The Øresund Bridge connects the two cities by rail and road.

Originally a Viking fishing village established in the 10th century in the vicinity of what is now Gammel Strand, Copenhagen became the capital of Denmark in the early 15th century.

The Grandma in Villa Copenhagen Hotel

Beginning in the 17th century it consolidated its position as a regional centre of power with its institutions, defences and armed forces. During the renaissance the city served as the de facto capital being the seat of government of the Kalmar Union, governing the entire present day Nordic region in a personal union with Sweden and Norway ruled by the Danish monarch serving as the head of state. The city flourished as the cultural and economic center of Scandinavia under the union for well over 120 years, starting in the 15th century up until the beginning of the 16th century when the union was dissolved with Sweden leaving the union through a rebellion.

After a plague outbreak and fire in the 18th century, the city underwent a period of redevelopment. This included construction of the prestigious district of Frederiksstaden and founding of such cultural institutions as the Royal Theatre and the Royal Academy of Fine Arts.

After further disasters in the early 19th century when Horatio Nelson attacked the Dano-Norwegian fleet and bombarded the city, rebuilding during the Danish Golden Age brought a Neoclassical look to Copenhagen's architecture. Later, following the Second World War, the Finger Plan fostered the development of housing and businesses along the five urban railway routes stretching out from the city centre.

More information: The Independent

Since the turn of the 21st century, Copenhagen has seen strong urban and cultural development, facilitated by investment in its institutions and infrastructure. The city is the cultural, economic and governmental centre of Denmark; it is one of the major financial centres of Northern Europe with the Copenhagen Stock Exchange.

Copenhagen's economy has seen rapid developments in the service sector, especially through initiatives in information technology, pharmaceuticals and clean technology. Since the completion of the Øresund Bridge, Copenhagen has become increasingly integrated with the Swedish province of Scania and its largest city, Malmø, forming the Øresund Region. With a number of bridges connecting the various districts, the cityscape is characterised by parks, promenades and waterfronts.

More information: Visit Copenhagen

Copenhagen's landmarks such as Tivoli Gardens, The Little Mermaid statue, the Amalienborg and Christiansborg palaces, Rosenborg Castle Gardens, Frederik's Church, and many museums, restaurants and nightclubs are significant tourist attractions. The largest lake of Denmark, Arresø, lies around 43 kilometers northwest of the City Hall Square.

Copenhagen is home to the University of Copenhagen, the Technical University of Denmark, Copenhagen Business School and the IT University of Copenhagen. The University of Copenhagen, founded in 1479, is the oldest university in Denmark.

Copenhagen is home to the FC København and Brøndby football clubs. The annual Copenhagen Marathon was established in 1980. Copenhagen is one of the most bicycle-friendly cities in the world.

The Watsons walk across Copenhagen at night

The Copenhagen Metro launched in 2002 serves central Copenhagen. Additionally the Copenhagen S-train, the Lokaltog, private railway, and the Coast Line network serves and connects central Copenhagen to outlying boroughs. 

Serving roughly two million passengers a month, Copenhagen Airport Kastrup, is the busiest airport in the Nordic countries.

Copenhagen's name reflects its origin as a harbour and a place of commerce. The original designation in Old Norse, from which Danish descends, was Kaupmannahǫfn, meaning merchants' harbour. By the time Old Danish was spoken, the capital was called Køpmannæhafn, with the current name deriving from centuries of subsequent regular sound change.

An exact English equivalent would be chapman's haven. However, the English term for the city was adapted from its Low German name, Kopenhagen. Copenhagen's Swedish name is Köpenhamn, a direct translation of the mutually intelligible Danish name.

Copenhagen is part of the Øresund Region, which consists of Zealand, Lolland-Falster and Bornholm in Denmark and Scania in Sweden. It is located on the eastern shore of the island of Zealand, partly on the island of Amager and on a number of natural and artificial islets between the two.

More information: Arrival Guides

Copenhagen faces the Øresund to the east, the strait of water that separates Denmark from Sweden, and which connects the North Sea with the Baltic Sea. The Swedish towns of Malmö and Landskrona lie on the Swedish side of the sound directly across from Copenhagen. By road, Copenhagen is 42 kilometres northwest of Malmö, Sweden, 85 kilometres northeast of Næstved, 164 kilometres northeast of Odense, 295 kilometres east of Esbjerg and 188 kilometres southeast of Aarhus by sea and road via Sjællands Odde.

The city centre lies in the area originally defined by the old ramparts, which are still referred to as the Fortification Ring (Fæstningsringen) and kept as a partial green band around it. Then come the late-19th- and early-20th-century residential neighbourhoods of Østerbro, Nørrebro, Vesterbro and Amagerbro. The outlying areas of Kongens Enghave, Valby, Vigerslev, Vanløse, Brønshøj, Utterslev and Sundby followed from 1920 to 1960. They consist mainly of residential housing and apartments often enhanced with parks and greenery.

More information: Rough Guides

Copenhagen is in the oceanic climate zone. Its weather is subject to low-pressure systems from the Atlantic which result in unstable conditions throughout the year. Apart from slightly higher rainfall from July to September, precipitation is moderate. While snowfall occurs mainly from late December to early March, there can also be rain, with average temperatures around the freezing point.

June is the sunniest month of the year with an average of about eight hours of sunshine a day. July is the warmest month with an average daytime high of 21°C. By contrast, the average hours of sunshine are less than two per day in November and only one and a half per day from December to February. In the spring, it gets warmer again with four to six hours of sunshine per day from March to May. February is the driest month of the year. Exceptional weather conditions can bring as much as 50 cm of snow to Copenhagen in a 24-hour period during the winter months while summer temperatures have been known to rise to heights of 33°C.

Because of Copenhagen's northern latitude, the number of daylight hours varies considerably between summer and winter. On the summer solstice, the sun rises at 04:26 and sets at 21:58, providing 17 hours 32 minutes of daylight. On the winter solstice, it rises at 08:37 and sets at 15:39 with 7 hours and 1 minute of daylight. There is therefore a difference of 10 hours and 31 minutes in the length of days and nights between the summer and winter solstices.

More information: Times of India

Denmark has long been regarded

as one of the world's most attractive nations,

for citizens and tourists alike.

My own visits there,years ago as a student,

were delightful.

Elliott Abrams