Skansin
Erik Christensen, via Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0
Magnus Heinason built this fort in 1580 after narrowly escaping a pirate raid himself, giving Tórshavn its first real defence against the slave-raiders who periodically attacked the town. French pirates destroyed it in 1677 when the town failed to meet their demands, and it was rebuilt and substantially expanded in 1780 into roughly the form seen today. Britain used Skansin as a military base after occupying the Faroe Islands in April 1940, and two 5.5-inch guns from that period still stand alongside older Danish cannon, next to a red-and-white lighthouse added in 1888.
