Graveyard expands

The new part of the graveyard at Velbastaðvegur in Tórshavn was inaugurated on 18 July.

With the completion of the first of four expansion stages, 250 graves have now been added to the graveyard.

Once all four expansion stages are completed, there will be a total of 1,100-1,200 new graves, spread over an area of 11,000 square metres.

Long-term plan

“We are opening this first section now because the shortage of grave space is too urgent to wait for the full project to be completed,” says Marin Katrina Frýdal, who heads the City Council’s town planning committee.

The City Council believes that despite this extension, there will be a shortage of burial space over the next eight to ten years.

“On average, some 150 people are buried here annually,” says Frýdal. “Although it may look as if there is plenty of space now, we need to start thinking about what to do in a few years’ time.”

When space runs out

The idea of reusing graves at some point in the future has not been ruled out, she says.

Building a crematorium is also an option that the council has been discussing for many years. But Frýdal says this would require heavy investment.

“It is not right to stop using graveyards entirely and move on to other forms of disposing of the dead, but we certainly need to start considering other options because we will soon be running short of burial space.”

Translated by prosa.fo