Seven historic wooden ships from the Faroe Islands visited Helsingör

Yesterday I went to see seven beautiful historic wooden ships from the Faroe Islands on display in Helsingör.

Here is some information about the visit, provided by the society for wooden sailing ships in the Faroe islands:

Faroese Flag 100 Years: The 2019 Faroese Flag Flotilla

"On 25 May 1940 the UK Government demanded that all Faroese vessels sail under the Faroese flag. The flag was designed in Copenhagen, Denmark in 1919 by Faroese students. The first time this flag was officially presented to the public was 2 June 1919 in a park to the north of Copenhagen.

The Faroese Association of Wooden Sailing Ships -„Felagið Føroysk Træseglskip“ - decided at its annual general meeting in November 2017 to celebrate the centenary of the Faroese flag by sailing to Denmark in 2019 with seven old wooden ships. The two oldest were built in the UK in 1884. On 2 June 2019 the Association will organize several special Faroese events in Copenhagen at the North Atlantic House https://www.nordatlantens.dk/en/home/ , where the vessels will be docked for the occasion.

The ships will first sail to Odense on the island of Fyn, and from there to Århus, which is the second largest city in Denmark. From Århus the fleet will sail to Helsingor and later on to Copenhagen where the ships will dock right across from the famous harborside area of Nyhavn. After staying one week in Copenhagen, the ships will leave for Ebeltoft in Jutland, to visit the wooden frigate, Jylland. This frigate was built in 1860 and is one of the largest and last wooden warships.

In every port of call a variety of events will be arranged, including music and exhibitions, and our sponsors will organize receptions onboard the ships for their customers and partners. The aim is to give the general public a chance to get to know more about modern society, business and culture in the Faroe Islands, one of Northern Europe’s smallest but most dynamic nations, firmly rooted in its seafaring history and independent identity.

On our trip back home from Denmark to the Faroe Islands we are making a stop in Lerwick, Shetland. Our bonds with Shetland are long-standing and very close, not least through the many aspects we share in our maritime history and heritage. We also want to highlight for our Shetland and Scottish friends the role played by the British Government in 1940 in recognizing the Faroese flag. We plan to leave Ebeltoft in Denmark on 9 June and hopefully be in Lerwick around 13 June, if the weather is with us.

While in Lerwick the ships are open to the public so people can visit the seven ships and speak with members of the crew about the ships and the old relationship between Shetland and Faroe Islands."