The Nix — Attraction in Sørvágur

Nix / Nykur is a mythical beast of Scandinavian folklore. It's often depicted as an aquatic monster that takes the shape of a gray, horse-like creature with inverted hoofs. The Nykur generally appears on the lakeshore, with half its body in the water, and looks to be quite tame to its unsuspecting victims. He uses its beauty to lure passersby to pet and mount it, and once an unsuspecting man, woman, or child does so, the beast's "sticky skin" traps them in a terrifying barrel roll as it drags them down to the bottom of the lake to drown. The Nykur's one weakness is that if someone calls its name aloud, the creature will lose all of its power and retreat to the depths from which it came. And the Faroese legends say that once, a small child happened to see a Nykur roaming through the shallow water of Lake Sørvágsvatn while he was out playing. In awe of the creature's beauty, the child approached the Nykur. The child wanted his brother, Niklas, to see the pretty horse as well, so he called out to him. Since the name sounded the same as the creature's name, it lost all its power and returned to the deep cold waters of lake Sørvágsvatn to try its luck...

Probably the best kept secret about the Nix is its transformation at the turn of the night in the Faroe Islands. Perched over the water and framed in between two hills, this seemingly unattractive contemporary statue turns into a magnificent stallion during a good sunset (and probably sunrise). The lights shining on it add to the mood of the picture. A good place to go for...

Cool statue mostly in the water. Makes for a great selfie. Because it is close to the airport the perfect time to visit is on your way leaving Faroe. It is lit with coloured lights, so may be even cooler if you can see it when it's dark. There is a lot of space for parking, but no other facilities I...