Torshamn is the capital of the Faroe Islands. The city is located on the southern part of the island of Streymoy and has just under 13,000 residents. The city grew up around Tinganes, the old part of town in Torshavn, where the Vikings established a thing, Løgting, – the Faroe Islands’ first – around the year 900. The Althing is with its current name, Lagtinget, one of the world’s oldest congregations. “Alltinget” met once every summer on the peninsula Tinganes near Torshamn, which at this time consisted of only two farms. The city is centrally located in the Faroe Islands. According to some sources, Torshamn did not get a permanent population until after the Reformation. The monopoly trade had now been given a permanent berth and to protect the harbor from pirates, a garrison and defense facility was established there.
In the 17th century, the Faroese population was divided into three equal groups: the poor, the Danish officials and the garrison crew.