Argir
Argir
Village in Faroe Islands, Kingdom of Denmark
Argir (Danish: Arge) is a village in the Faroe Islands.
Argir most likely takes its name from Old Irish airge meaning summer pasture.; several placenames in Faroe carry the same name with this meaning. Once a village south of Tórshavn, Argir has grown and is now merged with Tórshavn. In 1997 it joined the municipality of Tórshavn.
In recent years[when?] more houses have been built in Argir and the village, or quarter, has grown upwards into the hills. This area has views over the sea and the capital.
There is a boat harbour with boathouses in Argir and a church which was built in 1974.
From the 16th century until 1750 there was a leprosy-hospital in Argir. Some paupers lived there too. When the hospital closed the building was turned into a workhouse for the poor. on the 9th of may in 1828 a man named Andreas Mortensen (1794-1875) bought Argir in an auction for 1005 "ríkis dálar". He moved there with his family and lived there until he died, his descendants have been a big part in the towns history and a memorial stone was raised on the 9th of may 1948 in his honour.[2]
Argir's football team is called AB (Argja Bóltfelag). Argir has a rowing club called Argja Róðrarfelag; its boats are red and have a dragon head on the prow.