Koltur (Photo) – (Spring)

Koltur is an island in the Faroe Islands, located to the west of Streymoy and to the north-west of Hestur. The name ‘Koltur’ means ‘colt’, in contrast with the name of the larger island to the south-east, ‘Hestur’, which means ‘horse’. The island has just one settlement, Koltur. It was abandoned in the 1980s by the sheep-farmers whose flocks grazed on the southern part of the island. Since then only two people have returned (in 1994). Koltur has two mountains, Kolturshamar (478 m) and Fjallið (101m) which strictly speaking is not a mountain, the name however translates directly as “The Mountain” and is considered by many as the smallest mountain in the country.

The island supports 160 adult sheep.

In 1987, Føroya Forngripafelag called for a plan to be made to preserve the island’s historically important locations. A formal plan for its conservation and continued habitation was put forward in 1990, and on 11 June 1992, it was formally adopted. As a result, some buildings between the two settlements had been repaired by 1996. In 1996, Fornminninevndin proposed to expand the conservation of the settlements, and their proposal was approved in 2000.

Between 2000 and 2012, conservation efforts were undertaken in stages, with funding coming from various sources. In 2008 the Mc-Kinney Møllers Fond donated 5 million DKK to the restoration project. The project was deemed complete in 2012, and is now open as a museum.

Efforts are ongoing to have the island listed as a national park, as it is the only island which is run as an organic farm.