29. Inside T.F. Thomsen’s
Krambuðin
Once the harbor’s general
store and warehouse, the
historic 1836 building is now
a fascinating hybrid of
museum, café, and pub. The
original cash register rests
among cozy tables and if
you’re lucky, you’ll be
allowed to browse the old
shop ledgers, letters, and
family photos.
The shop has been in the
Thomsen family for 5
generations.
30. I was privileged to look through the correspondence of T.F. Thomsen, mostly letters to other
merchants in multiple languages to secure goods for his shop and sell Faroese salted fish.
39. The Merkið flag
The first national Faroese flag,
now housed in Fámjin’s church.
The flag was invented by local
students in 1919 and became a
symbol of the independence
movement in the 1940s.
During WW2, when Denmark was
under Nazi occupation and the
Faroes aligned with the Allies,
flying the Danish flag was
dangerous in the North Atlantic
waters. A Faroese ship captain,
Hans Mikkelsen, suggested using
the Merkið, leading to its
widespread use. Winston Churchill
formally recognized the flag on
April 25, 1940, the day the Faroese
celebrate as National Flag Day.
40.
41. Grave of Jens Oliver
Lisberg, one of the
students who created
the Merkið flag and
died tragically young
at age 26 of
pneumonia.
