Faroe Islanders - Settlements



Until the nineteenth century, Faroese villages consisted of one or more loosely agglomerated hamlets. The industrialization of the fishery after 1880 spurred the growth of Tórshavn and a few distant-water fishing ports, while the most isolated villages began to dwindle in size. The revival of the inshore fishery since the 1950s has enlivened a number of small and medium-sized villages (roughly 250-800 inhabitants). Dwellings were formerly built of fieldstone, with sod roofs and tarred wooden siding. In the early twentieth century, most were sided and roofed with gaily painted corrugated metal. Since World War II, most construction has been in poured concrete, also painted. Today's densely populated settlements take several forms, but except for Tórshavn and to some extent the larger towns, they have no well-defined centers.

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