Tórshavn owes its name to one of the old Nordic Gods, Thor (Tórshavn = Thor’s Harbour). The town was founded about 825 a.d. when the first Norwegian settlers (the Landnámsmenn) colonised the islands. Today we know, however, that Irish monks have stayed in The Faroe Islands a hundred years earlier (727 a.d.). Tórshavn has about 17.000 inhabitants. It may be the smallest capital in the world, but is certainly a town of today. Tórshavn has many points of interest for tourists, such as museums, buildings (churches etc.), monuments, parks and other sites. The thriving harbour includes also the small promontory Tinganes, the site of the oldest -still active- parliament in the world: Løgtingið.