The first settlers established their own parliament called "ting" around 800. The main thing was established on Tinganes in Tórshavn and local things where established in different parts of the islands. Tinganes drew people to trade and to attend court meetings etc. Currently the city has a population of around 20,000.
Reynagarður - an old vicarage build in 1630 with 4 wings around a paved yard. The newly restored westwing is a half-timbered house in Danish style. The southwing is an old Faroese style dating from 16 hundred.
Munkastovan must be dating back to the middleage, the heavy stone walls made from the same technique as used in the medival buildings in Kirkjubøur. The Munkastovan as well as the neighboring building, Leigubúðin, were saved when a devastating fire in 1673 burnt down many of the buildings in Tinganes. Leigubúðin, a former warehouse, where the kings revenue, payed in kind, was stored. It is difficult to date the building but it is mentioned as one of the buildings that survived the fire in 1673.
Corps de Garde Guardhouse built in 1693, with a prison in the basement. Inscription on the wall.
Skansapakkhhúsið fort warehouse - the extreme building on Tinganes, built in 1750. The other red-brownish houses were all built after the fire 1673 as warehouses and residential properties. Today they are government offices.
Stokkastova an old warehouse dating after 1693
Skansin. Fortification, built in 1580 by Magnus Heinason a local hero, to protect the trade against pirats. During the second world war the Faroese were occupied by British troops. They had their headquater on Skansin. The fort has been rebuilt several times and obtained its present shape in 1780. It was restored some years ago. There are 2 guns, left over from the British occupation, on Skansin and some old danish bronze guns from 1782.
Memorial table to Niels R. Finsen, born in Tórshavn (1860-1904). He was awarded the Nobel Prize for medicine. As a child he carved "NRF" in the rock behind the plaque. Next to the parking space Undir Glasheyggi there are two statues picturing a man and a woman returning from the outlying fields with mild and peet.
Kongaminnið. A basalt obelisk erected in 1882 to commemorate the visit of the Danish king Christian IX's visit to the Faroe Islands in 1874. From here you have a splendid view of the town.
The merry corner. In the middle of the pedestrian street there is a fountaine - with no water - and a statue in stainless steel picturing dancing children.
The saving bank. In the small garden of the saving bank there is a bronze statue of a couple made by the Faroese artist Janus Kamban.
The Council Hall, built in 1896 as a parish hall. Some years ago the Town Council restored the house and made it the Council hall.
Town Hall. Built in Faroese basalt in 1894. It was the school until 1955. In the midseventies it was restored and converted into an office building.
Lagthing, The Faroese Parliament building. Built in timber in 1856, and extended in 1907.
R.C. Effersøe. On the lane in front of the Lagthing there is a portrait bust presenting the Faroese poet R.C. Effersøe. It was unveiled in 1933.
H.N. Jacobsens Bookshop. A protected 3-winged building in a beautiful garden. It was built in 1860 and was then a "realskúli", a secondary school. A book shop since 1918.
Havnar Kirkja. The church in Tórshavn, built in 1788. In 1865 it was extended and rebuilt, the steeple was then erected over the front church.
Smiðjan í Lítluvík. An old forge, bought by the Council and converted into a artgalleri.
Mettustova, one of the pretty old houses in the old town, á Reyni. Built in 1719 and restored app. 1965. It is owned by the Women's club of Tórshavn.
Gongin, the old mainstreet in Tórshavn, very narrow and picturesque. Some of the houses are built in the 19th century.
Ríkisumboðið. The house was built in 1880 in Faroese basalt. It is the residence and office of the Danish "High Commissioner".
Besides this, a theatre, a new museum of Faroese art, cinemas, concert halls, libraries and a museum of antiquities with a special boat museum sing the historic glory of the Faroese.The traditional Faroese dance accompanied by the old ballads tells stories of the Vikings, their lives and their battles.The medieval heritage has helped in the survival of the Faroese culture and language till date. Apart from this, several music and song festivals are held during the summer that attracts a great number of visitors from the nearby locality to the city.
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