Garðabær () is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

in the

Capital Region A capital region, also called a capital district or capital territory, is a region or district surrounding a capital city. It is not always the official term for the region, but may sometimes be used as an informal synonym. Capital regions can exis ...

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 ...

History

Garðabær is a growing town in the

. It is the sixth largest town in Iceland with a population of 13,872 (Sept 1, 2013). The site of Garðabær has been inhabited since Iceland was first settled in the 9th century.

Landnámabók (, "Book of Settlements"), often shortened to , is a medieval Icelandic written work which describes in considerable detail the settlement () of Iceland by the Norse in the 9th and 10th centuries CE. is divided into five parts and over ...

, the Book of Settlement, tells of two farms on the site of Garðabær: Vífilsstaðir and Skúlastaðir. The former was named after Vífill, who was a slave of Ingólfur Arnarson, the first settler of Iceland. Ingólfur gave Vífill his freedom and he made his home at Vífilsstaðir.

Facilities

The only

IKEA IKEA (; ) is a Dutch multinational conglomerate based in the Netherlands that designs and sells , kitchen appliances, decoration, home accessories, and various other goods and home services. Started in 1943 by Ingvar Kamprad, IKEA has been t ...

store in Iceland is located in Garðabær, as is the only

Costco Costco Wholesale Corporation (doing business as Costco Wholesale and also known simply as Costco) is an American multinational corporation which operates a chain of membership-only big-box retail stores (warehouse club). As of 2022, Costco i ...

store. The town is also home to Marel hf., the largest company on

NASDAQ OMX Iceland The Nasdaq Iceland, formerly known as the Iceland Stock Exchange (XICE) ( is, Kauphöll Íslands), is a stock exchange located in Iceland. It was established in 1985 as a joint venture of several banks and brokerage firms on the initiative of the ...

by market capitalisation. 380 studios, the TV studio for the children's television programmes '' LazyTown'' and '' LazyTown Extra'' and the headquarters for Lazytown Entertainment, is located in the town.

Education

Among schools in the town are 7 elementary schools including Sjálandsskóli. Sjálandsskóli was established in 2005, and may be better known internationally for providing space in its building for the

International School of Iceland The International School of Iceland (abbreviated ISI; official name in Icelandic: Alþjóðaskólinn á Íslandi) is a private, non-profit school in Garðabær, Iceland. It is the only international school in the Reykjavík area of Iceland, first ...

Sports

The town's main sports club is

Stjarnan Ungmennafélagið Stjarnan, commonly known as Stjarnan, is an Icelandic multi-sports club specialising in handball, football, basketball, volleyball and gymnastics located in Garðabær.and in the top 10 in the World and they have won the League ...

, best known for its men's football team that plays in the Icelandic Premier League and won the competition for the first time in 2014. The club's women's football section has been even more successful; it is the currently reigning champion of the Icelandic Women's Premier League and has won four of the last six titles. The

Oddur Golf Club Oddur Golf Club is a golf club and course in Garðabær, 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 ...

was established in 1990 and has hosted the Icelandic Golf Championship in 2006 and the European Ladies' Amateur Team Championship in 2016. Award-winning dancer

Hanna Rún Óladóttir Hanna Rún Óladóttir (born 17 July 1990) is an Icelandic ballroom and Latin dancer. Born in Kópavogur, Iceland, in 1990, Hanna began dancing at the age of 4. During her competitive career she has won titles in Iceland and Europe. She has won ...

and strength athlete

Páll Logason Páll Logason (born 31 January 1986), also known as 'Fermeter' (Square-meter in English), is an Icelandic powerlifter and a strongman from Garðabær. Career Páll was passionate about lifting heavy weights since his teenage years and trained ...

live in Garðabær.

Music

Musicians from Garðabær include members of Of Monsters and Men, Mínus,

Dikta Dikta is an indie rock band from Iceland. They have released five albums thus far. Biography In its present incarnation, the group began in 1999. They played in the Icelandic band competition Músíktilraunir in 2000 and were finalists. Dikta's f ...

and Ourlives. Brothers Ómar and Óskar Guðjónsson of

ADHD Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterised by excessive amounts of inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity that are pervasive, impairing in multiple contexts, and otherwise age-inapp ...

, as well as Pétur Ben and

Ragnheiður Gröndal Ragnheiður Gröndal or Ragga Gröndal (born 1984) is an Icelandic singer. She was described as Iceland's best-selling artist in 2006, and was named Icelandic Singer of the Year that same year. In 2007, she was a finalist in Söngvakeppni Sjónv ...

, all hail from the town. Guitarist Björn Thoroddsen was named Garðabær Artist of 2002.

Surroundings

There are many nature reserves surrounding Garðabær, and the view from various sites in Garðabær is spectacular. From many areas in Garðabær the impressive

Snæfellsjökull Snæfellsjökull (, ''snow-fell glacier'') is a 700,000-year-old glacier-capped stratovolcano in western Iceland. It is situated on the westernmost part of the Snæfellsnes peninsula in Iceland. Sometimes it may be seen from the city of Reykjav� ...

(Snæfells Glacier) can be seen to the north-west, as well as Mt. Esja, and there is also a good view over the capital Reykjavík and the neighbouring town of

Kópavogur Kópavogur () is a town in Iceland that is the country's second largest municipality by population. It lies immediately south of Reykjavík and is part of the Capital Region. The name literally means ''seal pup inlet''. The town seal contains t ...

. The view to the south includes the mountains of the

Reykjanes Peninsula Southern Peninsula ( is, Suðurnes ) is an administrative unit and part of Reykjanesskagi (pronounced ), or Reykjanes Peninsula, a region in southwest Iceland. It was named after Reykjanes, the southwestern tip of Reykjanesskagi. The region ha ...

Bessastaðahreppur

Bessastaðahreppur was a municipality that became part of Garðabær in 2012.

International Cities of Friendship

Bessastaðahreppur's Cities of Friendship as at January 1, 2007: *

Gjøvik is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Toten. The administrative centre of the municipality is town of Gjøvik. Some of the villages in Gjøvik include Biri, Bybrua, and Hunndalen. The ...

- Norway *

Gävle Gävle () is a city in Sweden, the seat of Gävle Municipality and the capital of Gävleborg County. It had 77,586 inhabitants in 2020, which makes it the 13th most populated city in Sweden. It is the oldest city in the historical Norrland (Swede ...

- Sweden * Rauma - Finland *

Næstved Næstved () is a town in the municipality of the same name, located in the southern part of the island of Zealand in Denmark. Næstved has several adult education centers, five elementary schools - and has at least one of each type of the four ...

- Denmark

Nature

The Bessastaðahreppur (or Álftanes) area is primarily a residential area. There are fine mountain views. Many rare shore birds breed here along the beaches.

The
Bessastaðir Bessastaðir () is the official residence of the president of Iceland. It is situated in Álftanes, about from the capital city, Reykjavík Reykjavík ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland, ...
manor farm

The official residence of the

president of Iceland The president of Iceland ( is, Forseti Íslands) is the head of state of Iceland. The incumbent is Guðni Thorlacius Jóhannesson, who is now in his second term as president, elected in 2016 and re-elected in 2020. Vigdís Finnbogadóttir as ...

, built in 1766, heavily renovated over the years.

Twin towns – sister cities

Garðabær is twinned with: *

Asker Asker ( no, Asker), properly called Askerbygda in Norwegian, is a district and former Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Akershus, Norway. From 2020 it is part of the larger administrative municipality Asker, Viken (also known as Greate ...

, Norway *

Eslöv Eslöv (; older da, Eslev) is a town and the seat of Eslöv Municipality, Skåne County, Sweden with 19,598 inhabitants as of 2018. Eslöv is part of the Öresund Region. History According to a map from 1717, Eslöv village was originally l ...

, Sweden *

Jakobstad Jakobstad (; fi, Pietarsaari) is a town and municipality in Ostrobothnia, Finland. The town has a population of () and covers a land area of . The population density is . Neighboring municipalities are Larsmo, Pedersöre, and Nykarleby. The ...

, Finland * Rudersdal, Denmark

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gardabaer Municipalities of Iceland Populated places in Capital Region (Iceland)