The Faroe Islands, an Atlantic archipelago almost equidistant from Iceland, Norway and Scotland, were created around 60 million years ago by volcanic eruptions, which explains their stark and sharp topography. An early visitor may have been the Irish monk St. Brendan in the sixth century, who described an “island of the sheep” and a “paradise of birds.” Vikings from Norway settled permanently in the ninth century and, in 1035, the Faroes were absorbed by the Kingdom of Norway. Subsequently, they became part of the dual Denmark–Norway kingdom until its dissolution in 1814. Following a referendum on independence in 1946, the Faroes were granted autonomy, while remaining a part of Denmark.