Hestur Church (Photo) – (Spring)

Hestur (Danish: Hestø) is an island in the central Faroe Islands, to the west of Streymoy and the south of Koltur. Hestur means horse in Faroese.

On the west coast is a guillemot colony. In the north there is moorland with four small lakes, of which Fagradalsvatn is the largest. At Hælur, Hestur’s southernmost tip, there is a lighthouse. The island has one settlement, a village also named Hestur on the east coast. The village enjoys the view over to Gamlarætt and Velbastaður on Streymoy. There is a ferry link to the port at Gamlarætt.

The island has been settled since Viking times; the old settlement was at Hælur, the southern tip of the island. Due to it being the sunward side of the island, cereal ripened better there than anywhere else on the island. But due to extreme difficulties in landing boats there, the village was abandoned and the current village of Hestur was established.

In 1919 a fishing accident resulted in the deaths of one-third of Hestur’s men. In an attempt to fight the depopulation of the village, a swimming pool was built on the island in 1974. On the southern part of the island by the lake Fagradalsvatn, one can camp. Hestur’s postal code is FO 280. Since 1 January 2005 the island has been part of the municipality of Tórshavn.