Skopun
{{Short description|Town on the Faroe Islands, Denmark}}
{{Infobox settlement
|name = Skopun
|official_name = Skopun Municipality
{{native name|fo|Skopunar kommuna}}
|other_name = {{native name|da|Skopen}}
|native_name =
|nickname =
|settlement_type = Municipality and village
|motto =
|image_skyline = Skopun (4).JPG
|imagesize = 250px
|image_caption =
|image_flag =
|flag_size =
|image_seal =
|seal_size =
|image_shield =
|shield_size =
|image_map = Map-position-skopunar-kommuna-2005.png
|mapsize = 250px
|map_caption = Location of Skopun Municipality in the Faroe Islands
|pushpin_map = Faroe Islands
|pushpin_label_position = left
|pushpin_mapsize = 250
|pushpin_map_caption = Location of Skopun village in the Faroe Islands
|subdivision_type = State
|subdivision_name = {{flag|Kingdom of Denmark}}
|subdivision_type1 = Constituent country
|subdivision_name1 = {{flag|Faroe Islands}}
|subdivision_type2 = Island
|subdivision_name2 = Sandoy
|subdivision_type3 = Municipality
|subdivision_name3 = Skopun Municipality
|
|government_footnotes =
|government_type =
|leader_title =
|leader_name =
|leader_title1 =
|leader_name1 =
|established_title = Founded
|established_date = 1833
|area_magnitude =
|unit_pref =Imperial
|area_footnotes =
|area_total_km2 =
|area_land_km2 =
|population_as_of = January 2025
|population_footnotes = [https://hagstova.fo/en/population/population/population Population, municipalities and villages] Statistics Faroe Islands
|population_note =
|population_total = 478
|population_density_km2 =
|population_density_sq_mi =
|population_metro =
|population_density_metro_km2 =
|population_density_metro_sq_mi =
|population_blank1_title =
|population_blank1 =
|population_density_blank1_km2 =
|population_density_blank1_sq_mi =
|timezone = GMT
|utc_offset =
|timezone_DST = WEST
|utc_offset_DST = +1
|coordinates = {{coord|61|54|45|N|6|52|19|W|region:DK|display=inline}}
|elevation_footnotes =
|elevation_m =
|elevation_ft =
|postal_code_type = Postal code
|postal_code = FO 240
|area_code =
|blank_name = Climate
|blank_info = Cfc
|blank1_name =
|blank1_info =
|website = [https://web.archive.org/web/20110109104357/http://www.skopun.fo/ Skopun]
|footnotes =
}}
Skopun (pronounced {{IPA|fo|skopʊn|}}; {{langx|da|Skopen}}) is a town in the Faroe Islands situated on the northern coast of Sandoy.
Skopun is the second-largest town on the island. Skopun Municipality consists only of the town of Skopun.
History
Although the area has been inhabited since the Middle Ages, Skopun was not founded until 1833.{{cite book|last=Wylie|first=Jonathan|title=The Faroe Islands: Interpretations of History|year=1987|publisher=The University Press of Kentucky|isbn=0-8131-1578-7|pages=120|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7kmEYtkttx4C&dq=skopun&pg=PA120}} The people of Skopun did not possess any land. They subsisted on fishing, so the houses were built close to the water.
In 1897, Skopun's church was constructed out of timber taken from the old church of Vestmanna. The Faroe Islands' first road was built on Sandoy in 1917,{{cite book|last=Proctor|first=James|title=Faroe Islands|year=2008|publisher=Bradt Travel Guides|isbn=978-1-84162-224-8|pages=136|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=blwCW3h2o28C&dq=skopun+Faroe&pg=PA136}} as part of a government-financed plan to improve the island's non-existent harbour facilities. It connects Skopun with Sandur, the island's main town. Skopun's harbour was built in 1926 and later extended. In 1982, the harbour was furnished with a gate which protects the dock from the sea. A 1988 hurricane destroyed the town's small wood.
Until December 2023, Skopun was the ferry port for the route to Gamlarætt on Streymoy, occasionally via Hestur. This service ceased to operate after the Sandoyartunnilin opened for general traffic.
Name
The first part of
the place name comes from skopa, a bowl shaped vessel for bailing water out of a boat
(better known as an eyskar), and the un by a
shortening of havn (haven or port). The Danish
Skopen appeared on three cancellers between
1908 and 1962 and Skopun has been in use since.
The word skopa as defined seems to be uniquely
Faroese, although a similar-sounding skota was
the word for a bailing vessel in northeast Iceland
(also called austurskota).{{cite book|last=Brandt|first=Don|title=More stamps and the story of the Faroe islands|year=2006|publisher=Postverk Føroya|isbn=99918-3-191-6|pages=58|url=}}
People from Skopun
- Peter Mohr Dam, prime minister
- Gerhard Lognberg, politician
- Niels Winther Poulsen, educator and politician
- Sakaris Stórá, film director
See also
Gallery
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{commons|Skopun|Skopun}}
- [http://www.faroeislands.dk/pages/SkopunIndex.htm Skopun, information and pictures] on Faroe Islands.dk
- [http://www.fallingrain.com/world/FO/00/Skopun.html Maps, airports, & weather] on Skopun, Faeroe Islands Page
{{Municipalities of the Faroe Islands}}
{{coord|61|54|45|N|6|52|19|W|region:DK-FO_type:city(484)_source:dewiki|display=title}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Skopun}}
Category:Municipalities of the Faroe Islands
Category:Populated places in the Faroe Islands
Category:Populated places established in 1833