Kirkjubøargarður (Faroese for Yard of Kirkjubøur, also known as King's Farm) is one of the oldest still inhabited wooden houses in the world, if not the oldest. The farm itself has always been the largest in the Faroe Islands.

The old farmhouse of Kirkjubøur dates back to the 11th century. It was the episcopal residence and seminary of the Diocese of the Faroe Islands, from about 1100. The legend says that the wood for the block houses came as driftwood from Norway and was accurately bundled and numbered, just for being set up. Note that there is no forest in the Faroes, with the exception of a wood in northern Tórshavn, and wood is a very valuable material. Many such wood legends are thus to be found in Faroese history.

Though the farmhouse is a museum, the 17th generation of the Patursson family, which has occupied it since 1550, still lives there. Shortly after the Reformation in the Faroe Islands in 1538, all the real estate of the Catholic Church was seized by the King of Denmark. This was about half of the land in the Faroes, and since then called "King's Land" (kongsjørð).

When my Belgian friend Frans visited Kirkjubøargarður, he discovered this representation of a man wearing a beret. Unfortunately, no details on its age or maker.

Thanks Frans