Hafnarfjörður (), officially Hafnarfjarðarkaupstaður (), is a port town and municipality in

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 ...

, located about south of

Reykjavík Reykjavík ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland, on the southern shore of Faxaflói bay. Its latitude is 64°08' N, making it the world's northernmost capital of a sovereign state. With a po ...

. The municipality consists of two non-contiguous areas in the Capital Region, on the southwest coast of the country. At about 30,000 inhabitants, Hafnarfjörður is the third-most populous city in Iceland after Reykjavík and

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 ...

. It has established local industry and a variety of urban activities, with annual festival events.

Activities

The town is the site of an annual

Viking Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...

festival, where Viking culture enthusiasts from around the world display reconstructions of Viking garb, handicraft, sword-fighting and longbow shooting. It takes place in June each summer.

Local industry

Just two kilometres () outside of Hafnarfjörður is an

aluminium Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. It ha ...

smelter Smelting is a process of applying heat to ore, to extract a base metal. It is a form of extractive metallurgy. It is used to extract many metals from their ores, including silver, iron, copper, and other base metals. Smelting uses heat and a c ...

, run by

Alcan Alcan was a Canadian mining company and aluminum manufacturer. It was founded in 1902 as the Northern Aluminum Company, renamed Aluminum Company of Canada in 1925, and Alcan Aluminum in 1966. It took the name Alcan Incorporated in 2001. During t ...

. The smelter was originally built in 1969, and it has improved its cleaning process since then, especially regarding

fluoride Fluoride (). According to this source, is a possible pronunciation in British English. is an inorganic, monatomic anion of fluorine, with the chemical formula (also written ), whose salts are typically white or colorless. Fluoride salts ty ...

. Local elections were held in May 2006, where the people of the town voted against extension of the smelter.

History

Hafnarfjörður takes its name (meaning ''

harbour A harbor (American English), harbour (British English; see spelling differences), or haven is a sheltered body of water where ships, boats, and barges can be docked. The term ''harbor'' is often used interchangeably with ''port'', which is a ...

fjord In physical geography, a fjord or fiord () is a long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created by a glacier. Fjords exist on the coasts of Alaska, Antarctica, British Columbia, Chile, Denmark, Germany, Greenland, the Faroe Islands, Ice ...

'') from the area's excellent natural harbour. The town is built on top of

Holocene The Holocene ( ) is the current geological epoch. It began approximately 11,650 cal years Before Present (), after the Last Glacial Period, which concluded with the Holocene glacial retreat. The Holocene and the preceding Pleistocene togethe ...

lava field Lava fields are large, mostly flat areas of surface or subaquatic lava flows. Such features are generally composed of highly fluid basalt lava, and can extend for tens or hundreds of miles across the underlying terrain. Morphology and stru ...

s erupted from the nearby Krýsuvík volcanic system, including the 8000-year-old ''Búrfellshraun'' and the much younger 2000-year-old ''Óbrinnishólabruni''. There have been no new lava flows on the site since before the Settlement of Iceland, but the Krýsuvík system is still an active

volcano A volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most often found where tectonic plates are ...

, last erupting in 2021 at

Fagradalsfjall Fagradalsfjall () is a tuya volcano formed in the Last Glacial Period on the Reykjanes Peninsula, around from Reykjavík, Iceland. Fagradalsfjall is also the name for the wider volcanic system covering an area wide and long between the Sv ...

further to the southwest. Hafnarfjörður is first named in the medieval

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 ...

, and the earliest reports of voyages to Hafnarfjörður date from the end of the 14th century. Englishmen began trading in Hafnarfjörður in the 15th century, but German merchants followed in their wake and eventually drove the English out. In German documents, Hafnarfjörður was mentioned for the first time in 1391, and in another German document dating from 1486 the place was described as a trading place of merchants from

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

for the first time. The town of Hafnarfjörður became an official member of the

Hanseatic League The Hanseatic League (; gml, Hanse, , ; german: label=Modern German, Deutsche Hanse) was a medieval commercial and defensive confederation of merchant guilds and market towns in Central and Northern Europe. Growing from a few North German to ...

. The first Lutheran church in Iceland was raised at Háigrandi , opposite Óseyri , just outside the small boat harbour in 1533. After that, the Hanseatic traders prevailed in town until 1602, based at Hvaleyri . At this point, the Danish monarchy established a Danish trade monopoly in Iceland which lasted until late in the 18th century. During this period, Hafnarfjörður was the nation's busiest trade centre. In 1793, Bjarni Sívertsen settled here and became influential in local business and international trade, setting up a major commercial fishing operation. His enterprise and initiative signalled the start of impressive commerce in the town. Ever since, he has been called "the father of Hafnarfjörður" and nicknamed "Sir Bjarni". His house in Vesturgata street, built in 1803, was transformed into a museum (''Sívertsenshús''). Around 1870, dramatic changes took place in Icelandic fishing. Residents followed the growing trend in Iceland of using decked boats rather than row-boats. This led to even more employment and rapid growth, and Hafnarfjörður was the fifth town in Iceland to attain official municipal status in 1908. The first mayor was Páll Einarsson, who later became the mayor of

. The first road between Reykjavík and Hafnarfjörður was finished in 1898. The first hydrological power plant in Iceland was built in Hafnarfjörður in 1904. In 1890 Hafnarfjörður had 616 inhabitants and it was one of the largest towns in Iceland. When Hafnarfjörður attained official municipal status on 1 June 1908 it had 1 400 inhabitants. In 1920 Hafnarfjörður had 2 366 inhabitants, in 1940 3 686, in 1960 7 160 and in 1980 12 312. The ''

Coot Coots are medium-sized water birds that are members of the rail family, Rallidae. They constitute the genus ''Fulica'', the name being the Latin term for "coot". Coots have predominantly black plumage, and—unlike many rails—they are usually ...

'', Iceland's first trawler, operated from Hafnarfjörður between 1905 and 1908. Its boiler stands by the

roundabout A roundabout is a type of circular intersection or junction in which road traffic is permitted to flow in one direction around a central island, and priority is typically given to traffic already in the junction.''The New Shorter Oxford En ...

on the junction of Reykjavíkurvegur, Strandgata and Vesturgata. A harbour for large commercial ships was raised in 1912, and the first car arrived in 1913. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, more advanced

trawlers Trawler may refer to: Boats * Fishing trawler, used for commercial fishing * Naval trawler, a converted trawler, or a boat built in that style, used for naval purposes ** Trawlers of the Royal Navy * Recreational trawler, a pleasure boat built t ...

and numerous motorised ships were added to the fleet. The town's first stern trawler appeared in 1973. Today, Hafnarfjörður is one of the nation's largest fishing centres and the site of Iceland's first fish

wholesale Wholesaling or distributing is the sale of goods or merchandise to retailers; to industrial, commercial, institutional or other professional business users; or to other wholesalers (wholesale businesses) and related subordinated services. In ...

rs' auction market. Through the years, Hafnarfjörður's dynamic local economy has been strongly linked to fishing, although freight transport has recently become the major harbour activity. And now, the town is Iceland's second-ranked import and export harbour. Hafnarfjörður is the third largest town of Iceland, after Reykjavík and Kópavogur.

Geography

Climate

The climate in Hafnarfjörður is

subpolar oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...

''Cfc'').

Local festivals

Bright days

Each year in May, th
Bright Days festival
is held. The events include short movies, concerts and usually conclude on a day commemorating the sailors of Iceland.

Viking festival

Each year on the summer

solstice A solstice is an event that occurs when the Sun appears to reach its most northerly or southerly excursion relative to the celestial equator on the celestial sphere. Two solstices occur annually, around June 21 and December 21. In many countr ...

a Viking festival is held in Hafnarfjörður. A local pub and restaurant, Fjörukráin, started the festival and maintains it to this day.

Sights

Lava rocks in a park in the centre of Hafnarfjördur

There are various old buildings left in the old town centre, e.g. ''Pakkhúsið'' , a store house dating from 1865 which houses the Museum of Navigation (''Sjóminjasafn Íslands'' ). ''Sívertsenshús'', an old dwelling house built in 1803, is the oldest building in Hafnarfjörður. It is known by the name ''Hús Bjarna riddara Sívertsen'' as well and it was transformed into a museum in 1974. ''Hafnarfjarðarkirkja'' , the oldest church in town, was consecrated in 1914. Strandgata and Fjarðargata are two old streets in the centre where some historical buildings are preserved. No. 55 of Strandargata is a former wooden store house which was built in 1841 and enlarged in 1880. No. 57 is a wooden residential building dating from 1841. St. Joseph's Church (''Sankti Jósefskirkja'' ), one of the few Roman Catholic churches in Iceland whose parish was founded in 1926, can be visited in the South of the town centre. ''Karmelklaustur'' is the only Catholic monastery in Iceland. ''Fríkirkjan í Hafnarfirði'' is a Protestant church built in 1913. ''Hafnarborg'' is a centre of arts and culture where concerts and exhibitions are organized. Hafnarfjörður boasts its own Municipal Theatre, the Icelandic Museum of Films (''Kvikmyndasafn Íslands'' ) and a Museum of Telecommunication (''Póst- og Símaminjasafnið'' ). Many Icelanders believe in

elves An elf () is a type of humanoid supernatural being in Germanic mythology and folklore. Elves appear especially in North Germanic mythology. They are subsequently mentioned in Snorri Sturluson's Icelandic Prose Edda. He distinguishes " ...

and

troll A troll is a being in Nordic folklore, including Norse mythology. In Old Norse sources, beings described as trolls dwell in isolated areas of rocks, mountains, or caves, live together in small family units, and are rarely helpful to human bei ...

s. Hellisgerði is a small park with lava rocks in the centre of the town which is visited by many people believing that elves and trolls reside there. The northernmost

Bonsai Bonsai ( ja, 盆栽, , tray planting, ) is the Japanese art of growing and training miniature trees in pots, developed from the traditional Chinese art form of ''penjing''. Unlike ''penjing'', which utilizes traditional techniques to produce ...

trees of the world grow in Hellisgerði as well. ''Víðistaðatún'' is a park in the town centre which is famous for its sculptures created by Icelandic and international well-known artists. ''Víðistaðakirkja'' is a modern church, hemicycle in shape which was inaugurated in the park in 1988. The symbol of Hafnarafjörður is ''Viti'' , a lighthouse built around 1900 which can be seen in a residential area on private property.

Swimming pools

Hafnarfjörður has three swimming pools: Suðurbæjarlaug, Ásvallalaug, and Sundhöll Hafnarfjarðar.

Twin towns – sister cities

Hafnarfjörður is twinned with: *

Akureyri Akureyri (, locally ) is a town in northern Iceland. It is Iceland's fifth-largest municipality, after Reykjavík, Hafnarfjörður, Reykjanesbær and Kópavogur, and the largest town outside Iceland's more populated southwest corner. Nicknamed ...

, Iceland *

Bærum Bærum () is a municipality in the Greater Oslo Region in Norway that forms an affluent suburb of Oslo on the west coast of the city. Bærum is Norway's fifth largest municipality with a population of 128,760 (2021). It is part of the electoral ...

, Norway *

Cuxhaven Cuxhaven (; ) is an independent town and seat of the Cuxhaven district, in Lower Saxony, Germany. The town includes the northernmost point of Lower Saxony. It is situated on the shore of the North Sea at the mouth of the Elbe River. Cuxhaven has ...

, Germany *

Frederiksberg Frederiksberg () is a part of the Capital Region of Denmark. It is formally an independent municipality, Frederiksberg Municipality, separate from Copenhagen Municipality, but both are a part of the City of Copenhagen. It occupies an area of ...

, Denmark *

Hämeenlinna Hämeenlinna (; sv, Tavastehus; krl, Hämienlinna; la, Tavastum or ''Croneburgum'') is a city and municipality of about inhabitants in the heart of the historical province of Tavastia and the modern province of Kanta-Häme in the south of F ...

, Finland * Ilulissat, Greenland * Juanjui,

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

Tartu Tartu is the second largest city in Estonia after the Northern European country's political and financial capital, Tallinn. Tartu has a population of 91,407 (as of 2021). It is southeast of Tallinn and 245 kilometres (152 miles) northeast of ...

, Estonia *

Tvøroyri Tvøroyri is a village on the north side of the Trongisvágsfjørður on the east coast of Suðuroy island in the Faroe Islands. Together with Froðba, Trongisvágur, Líðin and Øravík it forms Tvøroyri Municipality. The village is considered ...

, Faroe Islands *

Uppsala Uppsala (, or all ending in , ; archaically spelled ''Upsala'') is the county seat of Uppsala County and the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, fourth-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö. It had 177,074 inha ...

, Sweden

Sports

There are two major sport clubs in Hafnarfjörður: Fimleikafélag Hafnarfjarðar (FH) and Knattspyrnufélagið Haukar. FH men's and

women's A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female humans regardl ...

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

teams have won several national championships. FH have won the Icelandic Handball league in total of 25 times and have won the cup 6 times which makes them the most successful team competing in Icelandic handball. Haukar have a magnificent history in handball with many titles. Haukar were champions in 1943, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2015 and cup holders in 1980, 1997, 2001, 2002 and 2010. Hafnarfjörður also has a gymnastics club, Fimleikafélagið Björk, established on 1 July 1951. Local swimming club, Sundfélag Hafnarfjarðar (SH), was established on 19 June 1945. The triathlon club 3SH, is part of the club.

Keilir Golf Club Keilir Golf Club is a golf club and course located in Hafnarfjördur, Iceland, on the Hvalreyi peninsula. Keilir Golf Club was established in 1967. It was originally developed as a nine-hole course by Magnus Gudmundsson. In 1971, the Swedish go ...

is an 18-hole golf club and course located on the Hvaleyri peninsula. Iceland Cricket opened the world’s northernmost cricket field in 2019 in Hafnarfjörður. At a latitude of 64.07°N, the field broke the record previously held in

Umeå Umeå ( , , , locally ; South Westrobothnian: ;). fi, Uumaja; sju, Ubmeje; sma, Upmeje; se, Ubmi) is a city in northeast Sweden. It is the seat of Umeå Municipality and the capital of Västerbotten County. Situated on the Ume River, Ume� ...

, Sweden (63.84°N) by 25km (15.5mi). It was officially inaugurated by Prime Minister of Iceland,

Katrín Jakobsdóttir Katrín Jakobsdóttir (; born 1 February 1976) is an Icelandic politician who has been serving as the prime minister of Iceland since 2017 and a member of the Althing for the Reykjavík North constituency since 2007. A graduate of the Univers ...

In popular culture

In the 1986 novel ''

Red Storm Rising ''Red Storm Rising'' is a war novel, written by Tom Clancy and co-written with Larry Bond, and released on August 7, 1986. Set in the mid-1980s, it features a Third World War between the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and Warsaw Pact force ...

'' by

Tom Clancy Thomas Leo Clancy Jr. (April 12, 1947 – October 1, 2013) was an American novelist. He is best known for his technically detailed espionage and military science, military-science storylines set during and after the Cold War. Seventeen of ...

, the Soviet Union gains a dramatic strategic advantage at the beginning of the war by seizing Iceland with a Guards Airborne division transported secretly by converted freighters. When the US Marine Corps retake Iceland, they initially land at Hafnarfjörður before advancing on Keflavik. Additionally, in the novella, ''The Odd Saga of the American and a Curious Icelandic Flock'', Snorri calls Alex in the middle of the night to tell him that he is passing through Hafnarfjörður and will be picking him up shortly for a trip to

Snæfellsnes The Snæfellsnes () is a peninsula situated to the west of Borgarfjörður, in western Iceland. The Snæfellsjökull volcano, regarded as one of the symbols of Iceland, can be found in the area. With its height of 1446 m, it is the highest ...

. In 2017 a petition calling upon the Icelandic Prime Minister to erect a statue of

Stefán Karl Stefánsson Stefán Karl Stefánsson (; ; 10 July 1975 – 21 August 2018) was an Icelandic actor and singer. He was best known for portraying Robbie Rotten, the antagonist of the children's television series '' LazyTown''. Career Stefán Karl's career ...

in his hometown of Hafnarfjörður “to forever immortalize and honor his amazing legacy” was created. After his death in 2018, there was a surge of signatures. There are now over 528,000 signatures.

Notable people

Ólafía Einarsdóttir Ólafía Einarsdóttir (28 July 1924 – 19 December 2017) was an Iceland, Icelandic archaeologist and historian, specialising in Icelandic chronology. She was the first Icelander to complete a degree in archaeology. After completing her PhD fro ...

, first Icelander to earn a degree in archaeology * Sveinn Eythorsson, guitarist and software developer * Logi Geirsson, former handballer * Ragnheiður Gestsdóttir, children's book author * Rebekka Guðleifsdóttir, photographer, artist *

Ólafur Guðmundsson Ólafur Andrés Guðmundsson (born 13 May 1990) is an Icelandic handball player for GC Amicitia Zürich and the Icelandic national team. He represented Iceland at the 2019 World Men's Handball Championship The 2019 IHF World Men's Handba ...

, handball player *

Hildur Guðnadóttir Hildur Ingveldardóttir Guðnadóttir (born 4 September 1982) is an Icelandic musician and composer. A classically trained cellist, she has played and recorded with the bands Pan Sonic, Throbbing Gristle, Múm, and Stórsveit Nix Noltes, and ...

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

-winning composer *

Björgvin Halldórsson Björgvin Helgi Halldórsson (Alternate names: Bó Halldórsson, Björgvin Halldórsson or Bó Hall) (born 16 April 1951) is an Icelandic pop singer from Hafnarfjörður. He represented Iceland in the Eurovision Song Contest 1995 with the song ...

, musician *

Emil Hallfreðsson Emil Hallfreðsson (born 29 June 1984) is an Icelandic professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder or left winger for Italian club Virtus Verona and the Iceland national team. Club career Early career Primarily a left-sided mid ...

, footballer who plays for

Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Coppa ...

club

Udinese Udinese Calcio, commonly referred to as Udinese, is a professional Italian football club based in Udine, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, that currently plays in Serie A. It was founded on 30 November 1896 as a sports club, and on 5 July 1911 as a ...

* Geir Hallsteinsson, former handballer *

Indie Indie is a short form of "independence" or "independent"; it may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Gaming *Independent video game development, video games created without financial backing from large companies *Indie game, any game (board ...

band

Jakobínarína Jakobínarína were an Icelandic six-piece indie-punk band from Hafnarfjörður near Reykjavik. Jakobinarina were formed by Ágúst Fannar Ásgeirsson, Björgvin Ingi Pétursson, Gunnar Bergmann, Hallberg Dadi Hallbergsson, Heimir Gestur Vald ...

Jóhanna Guðrún Jónsdóttir Jóhanna Guðrún Jónsdóttir (born 16 October 1990), known outside Iceland as Yohanna, is an Icelandic-Danish singer. Beginning her music career as a child singer, Yohanna received international recognition after representing Iceland in the ...

(Yohanna) was born in Copenhagen but raised in Hafnarfjörður, she was chosen to represent Iceland at the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 in Moscow, Russia with the song "Is It True?", earning her 2nd place *Current home to

Magnús Ver Magnússon Magnús Ver Magnússon (born 23 April 1963) is an Icelandic former powerlifter and strongman competitor. He is a four-time World's Strongest Man, having won in 1991, 1994, 1995, 1996 and is widely regarded as one of the greatest strongmen of ...

* Aron Pálmarsson, handballer in

THW Kiel THW Kiel is a handball club from Kiel, Germany. Currently, they compete in the Handball-Bundesliga and are the record champion with 22 titles. 2007 and 2012 were the most successful years in the club's history, as THW completed the treble, wi ...

Sesselja Sigmundsdóttir Sesselja (Hreindís) Sigmundsdóttir (5 July 1902 - 8 November 1974) was a noted Icelanders, Icelandic pioneer in the fields of pedagogy and the care for the mentally disabled and founder of the Sólheimar community. After her training in educatio ...

(born Hafnarfjörður 5 July 1902) * Gylfi Sigurðsson, footballer currently plays for English club Everton in the

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

* Sóley (musician), indie pop singer-songwriter *

, actor, most known for his role as

Robbie Rotten Robbie Rotten ( is, Glanni Glæpur, , reckless crime) is a fictional character and the main antagonist of the Icelandic children's program '' LazyTown''. He is also the series' primary comic relief character. He is a ruthless, selfish and lazy, ...

on the Icelandic children's TV series, '' LazyTown''

References

External links

*
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hafnarfjordur Populated places in Capital Region (Iceland) Municipalities of Iceland Members of the Hanseatic League