Þorlákshöfn () is a town on the southern coast of

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

in the Municipality of

Ölfus Ölfus () is a municipality located in Iceland. The major town is called Þorlákshöfn. The bottled water brand Icelandic Glacial is manufactured in this area, at the Ölfus spring. Geography In Ölfus several lava tubes can be visited. ''Rauf ...

. The town is named after

Saint Thorlak Thorlak Thorhallsson ( Icelandic: ''Þorlákur Þórhallsson''; 1133 – 23 December 1193) is the patron saint of Iceland. He was bishop of Skálholt from 1178 until his death. Thorlak's relics were translated to the cathedral of Skalholt in 11 ...

who was a bishop at

Skálholt Skálholt (Modern Icelandic: ; non, Skálaholt ) is a historical site in the south of Iceland, at the river Hvítá. History Skálholt was, through eight centuries, one of the most important places in Iceland. A bishopric was established in Sk� ...

. Its main importance is as a port as it has the only harbour on Iceland's southern coastline between

Grindavík Grindavík () is a fishing town on the Southern Peninsula of Iceland not far from the tuya Þorbjörn. It is one of the few cities with a harbour on this coast. Most of the inhabitants work in the fishing industry. The Blue Lagoon, Grindavík ...

in the west and

Höfn Höfn () or Höfn í Hornafirði () is an Icelandic fishing town in the southeastern part of the country. It lies near Hornafjörður fjord. The town, the second largest in the southeastern part of Iceland, offers scenic views of Vatnajökull (t ...

in the east. The port serves a direct weekly cargo ferries to

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"Ne ...

and

Hirtshals Hirtshals is a town and seaport on the coast of Skagerrak on the island of Vendsyssel-Thy at the top of the Jutland peninsula in northern Denmark, Europe. It is located in Hjørring municipality in Region Nordjylland. The town of Hirtshals has a p ...

operated by Faroese

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. It is also one of two departure points for ferries to the

Vestmannaeyjar Vestmannaeyjar (, sometimes anglicized as Westman Islands) is a municipality and archipelago off the south coast of Iceland. The largest island, Heimaey, has a population of 4,414, most of whom live in the archipelago's main town, Vestmannaeyj ...

archipelago. Services include restaurants, tourism, golf course,

motocross Motocross is a form of off-road motorcycle racing held on enclosed off-road circuits. The sport evolved from motorcycle trials competitions held in the United Kingdom. History Motocross first evolved in Britain from motorcycle trials competiti ...

field, camping, sport complex and a swimming pool. The town has several fish processing enterprises.

History and Culture

The construction of ''Þorlákskirkja'', a modern protestant church, was started in 1979. The church was consecrated in 1985. There are various historic places near Þorlákshöfn, e.g., a wooden church dating from 1909 on the farm ''Kotströnd''.

Infrastructure

Þorlákshöfn has a hotel, a camping area, a golf course, various restaurants and a sports centre with a public swimming pool. The townhall of the municipality of Ölfus (''Ráðhús Ölfuss'') is in Þorlákshöfn. There are various shops, a supermarket, primary school, kindergarden, public library, health care centre (''Heilsugaelustöð''), pharmacy, a gas station and repairing station as well.

Notable people from Þorlákshöfn

Bergþóra Árnadóttir Bergþóra Árnadóttir (15 February 1948 – 8 March 2007) was an Icelandic folk song composer and singer. Many of her songs were built around the lyrics of Icelandic poets. In the mid 1970s, she hosted and performed in one of Icelandic TVs fir ...

Folk Singer *

Birgitta Jónsdóttir Birgitta Jónsdóttir (born 17 April 1967) is an Icelandic politician, anarchist, poet, and activist. She was a Member of the Althing (MP) for the Southwest Constituency from 2013 to 2017, representing the Pirate Party, having been elected at th ...

Politician, Poet and Activist * Jón Guðni Fjóluson: Footballer currently playing for

IFK Norrköping Idrottsföreningen Kamraterna Norrköping, more commonly known as IFK Norrköping or simply Norrköping, is a Swedish professional football club based in Norrköping. The club is affiliated to Östergötlands Fotbollförbund and play thei ...

* Jónas Sigurðsson: (Jónas Sig) musician

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thorlakshofn Populated places in Southern Region (Iceland)