Skansin

Tórshavn, Faroe Islands

Skansin is a historic fortress located on a hill beside the port of Tórshavn. The fort was built in 1580 by Magnus Heinason to protect against pirate raids of the town, after he himself was nearly caught up in one such raid. The fort was expanded considerably in 1780 and went through a series of rebuilds for many years afterwards. During the Second World War the fort served Britain as a military base. Two guns date from the British occupation, standing along with many older Danish cannons.

One of the Faroese lighthouses, the Skansin Lighthouse, towers over the fortress, pointing the way to the capital. The strategic location of the fort offers tourists picturesque views of Tórshavn port, surrounding landscape and views out towards Nólsoy island.

References:

Wikipedia

Address

Yviri við Strond, Tórshavn, Faroe Islands

See all sites in Tórshavn

Details

Founded: 1580
Category: Castles and fortifications in Faroe Islands

More Information

en.wikipedia.org
www.militaryarchitecture.com

Rating

4.3/5 (based on Google user reviews)

Interesting Sites Nearby

Tórshavn Cathedral (0,5 km)
Tinganes (0,3 km)
Kirkjubøargarður (6,4 km)
St Olav's Church (6,4 km)
Magnus Cathedral Ruins (6,4 km)

Sandavágur Church (20,9 km)
Kvívík (20,2 km)
Graves of Havgrímur (55,4 km)

User Reviews

Beinta Stora (13 months ago)
Good historic place to visit

Virginia L (2 years ago)
Very cool canons on site, easy and free to visit! Great views too!

CalvinW (2 years ago)
This is such an intriguing monument that we explored on our first night on the Faroe Islands. Wanted to use the 20 minutes I had before our dinner reservation to explore this spot which was just the perfect amount of time. Not super busy but definitely a cool location with some history behind it.

Nastia Vais (2 years ago)
A fort wirh cannons. Free entrance. Views over the port and the ocean.

vladimir berlin (3 years ago)
A cool place with a nice view of Torshavn. the old fort has some old cannons from WW2. the place is very quiet and pretty,

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Photo from Flickr, copyright Andy Hay

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