The two sea stacks next to each other are called Risin and Kellingin or translated, The Giant and the Witch. A legend with old Norse roots tells about the giants in Iceland that wanted the Faroes. So two such mythical creatures, the Giant and the Witch, were sent to the Faroes in the cover of darkness. They came to the north end of the island of Eysturoy, where the Witch climbed up on Eiðiskollur, the mountain at the north end of Eysturoy, and tied a rope around the mountain. The idea was that they should tie all the islands of the Faroes together and then the Giant should pull or carry the islands back to Iceland.
However, when they pulled the rope, the top of Eiðiskollur cracked and a deep fissure appeared. It can still be seen until this day. The giants continued trying to tie up the Faroes and as they worked through the night, they didn’t notice that daybreak approached. And as all of you surely know, the giants will be transformed to stone, if the sun shines upon them.
And that was exactly what happened here. The Giant and the Witch couldn’t complete the work in time and it was one of those rare days, when the sun was shining. And the Giant and the Witch were both transformed into the two sea stacks that we see just outside the island. They are longingly looking back to their remote home in Iceland.
Risin, the Giant, is 71 metres tall and Kellingin, the witch, standing with two legs into the sea, is 68 metres tall. They are both standing beside Eiðiskollur, the mountain that Kellingin tried to tie a rope around. Eiðiskollur is just above 350 metres tall. In the beginning of the last century a part of Kellingin fell off, and geologists predict that sometime in the next decades, a winter storm may cause her to fall into the sea.
We could sea the sea stacks from two different positions. The first was the village of Tjørnuvik, described in my previous post. Tjörnuvik is on the island of Streymoy, where the sea stacks will appear at the horizon. And the other viewpoint is on Eysturoy itself, above the village of Eiði, where there is a viewpoint.
