Europe is filled with old buildings that have been around for many centuries. Some are now ruins, but others are still standing and used today. One stands out as perhaps the most aged on the continent: Kirkjubøargarður in the Danish Faroe Islands. The wooden property, which has been home to farmers for hundreds of years, is thought to date to around 1100, making it nearly 1,000 years old.
The farmhouse in Kirkjubø is a timbered home and has been continuously occupied by the same Faroese family for 17 generations, Visit Faroe Islands says. Roykstovan is the oldest part of the structure, and is recognised as one of the oldest still inhabited timber houses in the world, if not the oldest. It has been the homestead of the Patursson family since the 1550s. Prior to that, it was a part of a palace used by bishops, dating back more than 900 years.
A Roykstova was the room where the home’s fireplace was located, serving as kitchen, workroom, living room and sleeping area.
Tourists can visit this part, which houses a collection of farming and household implements from the year 1100.
Groups can even book lunch, coffee or dinner there.
The Reformation meant all the real estate of the Catholic Church in the Faroe Islands was seized by the King of Denmark.
Since then, this has been called "King's Land", or Kongsjørð.
The farm in Kirkjubøur was the largest piece of said territory because it was a major episcopal residence.
This land is today owned by the Faroese government, and its occupants are tenants.
One feature of Kirkjubøargarður, its grass roof, stood out to Reddit users. One person wrote: “Don't you hate it when you have to mow the roof?
“You have to wait until you get just the right breeze to get the riding mower down, am I right?”
A different account suggested: “Throw a goat up there.” Someone else then pointed out that this is not as far fetched as it may sound.
They wrote: “That is exactly how my husband's Norwegian cousins with a similar roof do theirs.”
Another user seemed somewhat depressed at the fact that they could not emulate it. They wrote: “I want a grass roof now. I guess you need to live in the right environment for that, so since I'm in Arizona that won’t work.”