THE VILLAGE

Skarvanes is the smallest village in Sandoy with a population of approx 10. people.

Skarvanes is an old village. People have lived in Skarvanes from the year 1500 at least. The village is on the west-side of Sandoy and therefore it was a good place to grow grain.

There used to be a school in Skarvanes, but it was closed in 1971. There has never been a church in Skarvanes, but there used to be a prayer house in the village.

DÍÐRIKUR Á SKARVANESI

Díðrikur á Skarvanesi, also known as Díðrikur í Kárastovu, was born in Dímun in 1802. He was the first painter (artist) in the Faroe Islands. Díðrikur painted birds. He was self-taught, but was in Copenhagen in 1828 to learn more about painting. Only five of his paintings are preserved. They can be seen at the National Art Gallery in Tórshavn.

Díðrikur died in 1865.

THE OLD MILL

Next to the school you’ll find Mataráin (the brook from which water was taken for cooking), and there you will also find the old mill that is owned by the Faroese National Museum.

HIKING

The old village path was repaired and marked as part of the Closed For Maintenance: Open for Voluntourism project in 2019. The path sign is located by the turning space in Skarvanes, and to find the first pole on the path, you follow the upper road in Skarvanes from the turning space. The path is marked with cairns, blue poles and blue ladders to cross the fences.

Please follow the marked path if you hike in this area, and let someone in the area know before you go, both for your own safety, and to avoid getting in the middle of driving sheep in the outfields.