Runavík

Runavík is a comparatively urbanised village in Runavík Municipality, Faroe Islands. It lies on the south half of the isle of Eysturoy.

Runavík
Village
The harbour in Runavík
Location of Runavíkar kommuna in the Faroe Islands
Runavík Location of Runavík village in the Faroe Islands
Coordinates: 62°06′34″N 6°43′9″W
State	Kingdom of Denmark
Constituent country	Faroe Islands
Island	Eysturoy
Municipality	Runavík
Founded	1916
Elevation	0 m (0 ft)
Population  (January 2024)[1]
• Total	575
Time zone	GMT
• Summer (DST)	UTC+1 (EST)
Postal code	FO 620
Climate	Cfc
Website	www.runavik.fo

Port

Founded in 1916, Runavík has an important port, originally used predominantly by fishing boats but now also a key supply base for the North Sea oil industry as well as a trans-shipment port for freight to and from Europe.^[2] The harbour underwent development in the late 1990s^[3] and can now accommodate cruise ships.

Eysturoyartunnilin

Main article: Eysturoyartunnilin

A massive infrastructure project has been mounted to build an 11 km-long sub-sea tunnel between Runavík and Tórshavn,^[4] thereby significantly reducing travel times to the capital.^[5][6] Construction costs are estimated to be around 1 billion Faroese króna.^[7] In 2014 all political parties of the Faroese parliament agreed on how and when to build the Eysturoyartunnilin and the Sandoyartunnilin. The drillings started in 2016 regarding the Eysturoyartunnilin, which opened to the public in December 2020. The work on the Sandoyartunnilin began in 2019. The first step in the projects was to fill out a platform of land in the sea at Saltnes near Runavík for the Eysturoy-tunnel.^[8][9]

Sport

The local football club is NSÍ Runavík, a men's team who play their home games at the Runavík Stadium. They were Faroe Islands Premier League winners in 2007. In 2020 a women's team was founded.^[10]

Sister Cities

Runavík is twinned with

• Hjørring, Denmark
• Ísafjörður, Iceland
• Egilsstaðir, Iceland
• Uummannaq, Greenland

See also

• List of towns in the Faroe Islands

References

1. Population, municipalities and villages Statistics Faroe Islands
2. "Atlantic Supply Base". Runavíkar Kommuna. Archived from the original on 20 July 2011. Retrieved 5 January 2011.
3. Hart's E&P. Hart Publications. 1999.
4. "Eysturoyartunnilin verður liðugur í 2019" (in Faroese). Sjóvar Municipality. 23 February 2016. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
5. "Maritime & Related Optimism at Port of Runavík". Faroes Business Report 2010. 25 April 2010. Retrieved 5 January 2011.
6. "Tunnel development group". Skalafjardartunnilin.fo. Archived from the original on 20 July 2011. Retrieved 5 January 2011.
7. kvf.fo. Tunlarnir verða lidnir í 2021
8. kvf.fo. Tunlarnir verða lidnir í 2021
9. Aktuelt.fo, Tunnilin skal upp bæði á Strondum og í Runavík
10. "NSÍ kvinnur leika fjórðingsfinalu í morgin | Nsí.fo | NSÍ Runavík FC". 27 October 2020.

External links

• Media related to Runavík at Wikimedia Commons
• Faroeislands.dk: Runavík
• Official Tourism Office site