Vaglið (The square)

Vaglið, the main square of Tórshavn, hosts several celebrations every year

Standing beneath a row of mature trees in front of the Old Bookshop in Vaglið square, look  to your left and you’ll see a beautiful building constructed of layers of basalt rock. This is the town hall, originally built as a school in 1894. On the other side of the road, you will see a white wooden building, which houses the Faroese Parliament, Løgtingið. Just across from the Løgting, look out for a little kiosk, brightly coloured in red, white and blue. Kioskin hjá Astu is a Faroese institution and has been selling all manner of things at all hours of the day to the people of Tórshavn for generations. The kiosk was fully refurbished in 2019.

Vaglið plays host to several celebrations throughout the year. The most important is the Faroese national holiday, Ólavsøka, which takes place on July 28th and 29th. Every year, Ólavsøka begins with a speech and a choir singing in Vaglið square. The celebrations end with the midnight song on July 29th, when several thousand people gather in Vaglið to sing patriotic songs and participate in the traditional Faroese chain dance. During the whole of Ólavsøka festivities, Vaglið is crowded with people from right across the country.