(All images by Arne List, cc-sa-3.0)
If you’re looking for a peaceful northern idyll to escape the madding crowds, Slættanes in the Faroe Islands, with its 12 abandoned houses, could be for you. That is, at least, until the summer time when former residents return to their isolated community for the holiday season.
Located on the northern coast of the island of Vágar, the settlement was founded in 1835 by a man called Hendrik Thomasen and belonged to the municipality of Sandavágur, the latter of which was twice voted the best kept village in the Faroes.
At its peak (1945 – 1950), Slættanes was home to around 130 people. But its isolated location and lack of roads leading to the village brought about its ultimate abandonment by 1965. Today, like other ghost towns of the Faroe Islands, Slættanes – with houses dispersed across a meadow and no streets – remains in good condition and serves as summer accommodation for former inhabitants. A neighbouring community, Víkar, is also abandoned.
Keep reading – explore more ghost towns of the Faroe Islands (Múli, Skarvanes and Við Áir), and visit 50 Ghost Towns and Abandoned Cities of the World.
