In the Faroe Islands, wild, unpredictable weather — fierce winds and rain, and thick fog that settles like a curtain — can sometimes make travel by car or ferry problematic. No wonder the Faroese love their tunnels.
They’ve built 17 of them on land and four subsea — including the world’s only subsea tunnel with a roundabout that’s underwater.
The network makes for easier navigation of the self-governing island nation within the Kingdom of Denmark.
“Though we are 18 islands, we often joke that (because of the tunnels) we defy the fact that we are islands,” says Súsanna Sørensen, marketing manager of Visit Faroe Islands. Located in the North Atlantic halfway between Iceland and Scotland, the volcanic islands’ unspoiled scenery wows visitors.
The two latest subsea tunnels are statement makers, too.
“These are our Eiffel Tower or Big Ben,” says Teitur Samuelsen, CEO of Eystur-og Sandoyartunlar, the company operating the tunnels, “with people, especially tourists, driving through them just to see the art.”
Art? Yes, indeed. A stunning marriage of art and engineering.
A sculpture-infused tunnel
Every day, more than 6,000 vehicles travel through the nearly seven-mile (11-kilometer) subsea tunnel connecting Streymoy, the largest of the Faroe Islands and home to Tórshavn (one of the world’s smallest capitals), with Eysturoy, the archipelago’s next biggest island.
In addition to its stunning natural landscapes, Eysturoy is home to the G! Festival, an outstanding local and international musical event held each July in the waterfront village of Syðrugøta.
Construction of the Eysturoy Tunnel took about four years, opening in December 2020.
These subsea tunnels are created by using the drill and blast method: drilling holes in the basalt — a strong, igneous rock — and then packing the holes with dynamite.
At its lowest point, the tunnel is about 614 feet (187 meters) below sea level. And though having the North Atlantic over your head might provoke anxiety, you can feel confident in its construction, says Samuelsen.
“The tunnels are designed by the world‘s leading engineers and geologists, so safety with regards to the Atlantic above is not an issue,” he says.
Actually, the drive is kind of magical, with the highlight being a sculptural roundabout with shifting colors that is so striking, some compare it to the Aurora borealis or jellyfish glowing in the sunlight.
“The roundabout — nicknamed ‘the jellyfish’ — is certainly a tourist attraction,” says Sørensen. Many take several turns around the roundabout to soak up the mesmerizing scene.
Revered Faroese artist Tróndur Patursson was commissioned to create this vibrant installation. But why spend time and money putting art in subsea tunnels?
“We have a lot of good art in the Faroes, and we’d like to support our artists. In addition, it breaks up the monotony in a long, dark tunnel, so it’s good for driving safety,” says Samuelsen.
When this tunnel was created, a natural central basalt column was left standing for the roundabout where the tunnel branches off toward Strendur and Rókin, located on either side of a fjord on Eysturoy.
The central column, radiating clouds of color, is ringed at its base by a striking steel sculpture. Drivers gaze at a steel ring of silhouettes, life-size people holding hands around the pillar and looking inward at the ever-changing lights.
Patursson has said his intent was to represent how the Faroese, despite living in a rugged environment, are resilient, united in their accomplishments by working together. But for many, the circle of interlinked figures is evocative of the traditional Faroese chain dance that you’ll observe if you visit the Faroes for Ólavsøka, National Day, on July 29.
Beyond the visuals, the tunnel is also saturated with auditory art.
Musician Jens L. Thomsen composed the ethereal soundscape that you can listen to by tuning into FM97 when driving through.
The experience was created by “recording the sounds of the construction as well as the silence in the tunnel,” says Thomsen. Instead of using conventional instruments, “this technique allowed me to find the voice of the tunnel,” adds Thomsen.
Glow-in-the-dark totems
The Eysturoy Tunnel isn’t the only dazzling undersea experience.
Since December 2023, Streymoy and the wee island of Sandoy have been connected by the latest subsea tunnel, the Sandoy Tunnel. About 1,000 vehicles a day navigate the approximately six-and-a-half-mile stretch that at its nadir is 508 feet (155 meters) below the North Atlantic.
You’ll find the visual and auditory art enthralling here as well. Along the rough basalt walls, almost a dozen glowing images reference some of the characters in Faroese folklore, such as a bishop wielding a battle ax, an old witch and a seal woman.
This is the creation of Edward Fuglø, a prominent Faroese artist, who put a contemporary take on ancient cave paintings. He also depicts birds as an homage to the self-taught, 19th-century bird painter Díðrikur á Skarvanesi, the first known visual artist in the Faroes.
Sunleif Rasmussen, a renowned Faroese composer, created the acoustic landscape.
“I had a dream of the melody,” says Rasmussen. He relied on some of the sounds of the tunnel, including water dripping during the construction, as well as music by the lead singer of the pop group Snowflakes to produce this inventive electroacoustic work.
This creates a surreal experience for those drivers tuning into FM100 while navigating this tunnel to Sandoy, where white, sandy beaches, tall sand dunes — the only ones in this archipelago — and an expansive lake that’s perfect for kayaking await.
Transformative infrastructure
“With all the well-developed tunnel infrastructure, it’s easy for our guests to move around the country,” says Sørensen.
With the roundabout tunnel, the driving time from the capital city Tórshavn to the island of Eysturoy was cut from about 60 minutes to about 15 minutes. It’s also easier to visit other islands.
“You can now drive from Tórshavn to Klaksvik, the second largest city (located on Borðoy), in just 45 minutes versus 75 minutes,” adds Sørensen.
The Sandoy Tunnel has been especially life-changing.
“More and more people are now moving to Sandoy from Tórshavn. In one village where 145 people live, 10 apartments are under construction. This is a lot for us,” says resident Barbara av Skardi, who would never have considered moving to Sandoy if it wasn’t for the tunnel.
“During winter, the ferry sometimes could be canceled for days” because of gusty winds and unpredictable currents, she says.
New businesses are opening, and others are seeing an uptick in visitors.
“Because of the tunnel, my wife, Barbara, and I both moved back to Sandoy and opened Cafe Retro,” says business co-owner Dávur Jacobsen.
And according to Ólavur Jøkladal, director of the Sandur Art Museum, “The number of visitors has more than doubled since the tunnel opened.”
These inventive undersea creations blend art and technology and mark a new era of connectedness for these remote islands.
