Sandoy

Sandoy (Danish: Sandø) is the fifth largest island of the 18 that make up the archipelago of the Faroe Islands (Denmark), located in the Norwegian Sea.

Its name means The Sand Island, and refers to the beaches that can be found along the entire island coast. Geographically, it is the flattest island in the entire archipelago, which makes it an ideal place for cycling.

• Extension: 112.1 km2
• Population: 1.393 (2002)
• Highest point: Tindur479 meters

The islands of Skúvoy and Stóra Dímun with their 62 inhabitants belong to the administrative region of Sandoy. Some important towns on the island are Sandur, Skálavík, Skopun and Húsavík.

The island is connected by ferry to the capital, Tórshavn. Since 2004, work has been carried out on the construction of an undersea tunnel linking the island with Streymoy. This work is being carried out by a company with Scottish and Faroese capital, and its completion and start-up is estimated for 2023.

Legends of Sandoy

The Lady of Húsavík

Húsavík, a town of 88 inhabitants located on the eastern coast of the island, was the scene of one of the most popular legends in national folklore.

A poor young woman named Sissal, under the orders of a wealthy local farmer, has a strange dream one afternoon when she falls asleep in her master's pasture. Said dream urges her to dig under the ground on which she is, since she will find large amounts of gold. This dream is repeated several times, so she finally decides to ask a wise old woman in the area for advice.

It advises you to carry out this excavation. In doing so, Sissal finds the famous golden horn of Sigmundur Brestisson (one of the most important characters in The Saga of the Faroese). The young woman brings this discovery to the farmer she works for, who forwards it to the king of Denmark. The monarch, grateful for this gift, grants Sissal property on the island, as well as the amount of money equivalent to the price of the golden horn.

With this money, she acquired all the lands of Húsavík, as well as the neighboring Skarvanes, becoming the richest woman in the history of the islands. Today, the remains of her Heimi a Garði farm can still be found in the town.

Gívrinarhol

Inside this cave, located west of Sandur, lives a troll woman. The legend tells how a man went in search of this cave and found the troll along with a child and surrounded by enormous amounts of gold.

As the troll was blind, the man had the courage to steal the gold that surrounded them and even the pile with which the baby was playing. Although she did not see anything that was happening, when the child was deprived of her toy, she began to cry, making the owner of the treasure realize that something was happening. She tried to look for him throughout the cave, but the man had already escaped on horseback.

Enraged, the troll screamed and called her neighbor to avenge such an affront. Her friend did not hesitate to chase him, so she ran after the thief, jumping over the lake Gróthúsvatn (leaving footprints that can be seen today and are called Gívrunarspor ).

Although the man had a certain advantage, the troll finally managed to grab the horse's tail, not stopping it, but making it go more slowly. Fearing of being caught, the man continued riding, making the woman stay with his tail in her hand.

Finally, she managed to knock down the horse and the man, but both were already close to the town, next to the church, so the troll lost its powers. Later, the gold obtained by man would be used to make candelabras for the church altar.