Hnausa which roughly translates to "uneven ground" is a small community located in the area known as New Iceland in Manitoba's
Interlake Region
The Interlake Region is an informal geographic region of the Canadian province of Manitoba that lies roughly between Lake Winnipeg and Lake Manitoba in the Canadian province of Manitoba. The region comprises 14 rural municipalities, one city (th ...
. It is 6 miles, or approximately 10 kilometres, south of
Riverton, and is situated on Breidavik (which means "Broad Bay" in Icelandic) on the coast of
Lake Winnipeg
Lake Winnipeg (french: Lac Winnipeg, oj, ᐑᓂᐸᑲᒥᐠᓴᑯ˙ᑯᐣ, italics=no, Weenipagamiksaguygun) is a very large, relatively shallow lake in North America, in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Manitoba, Canada. I ...
, in the
Rural Municipality of Bifrost
The Rural Municipality of Bifrost is a former rural municipality (RM) in the Canadian province of Manitoba. It was originally incorporated as a rural municipality on December 1, 1907. It ceased on January 1, 2015 as a result of its provincially m ...
. The settlement was founded in the area by 35 Icelandic families in 1876. Hnausa Post Office was set up in 1889 in the home of Rev. Magnus J. Skaptason.
Much of the population descended from these immigrants from
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 ...
.
Hnausa, at one time, was a prosperous community, having a school, postal office, store, sawmill, community hall, and a gas station. Now, the community of Hnausa is much smaller, and only has a small number of residents, and the community hall remaining. Fishing and agriculture are the two main industries in the community. Many people also have summer cottages in the area.
Hnausa Beach Provincial Park
Hnausa Beach Provincial Park is a provincial park in Manitoba, Canada, on the west shore of Lake Winnipeg north of Gimli, Manitoba. The beach within the park is named after the nearby community of Hnausa. ''Hnausa'' is an Old Icelandic word for ...
is just south of the community.
In 2000, Hnausa hosted the "Hnausa Homecoming", which was a community reunion for the current and former residents of the area. A Hnausa history book has also been published, which describes the early history of the community, as well as the numerous families that have resided in the area.
References
Unincorporated communities in Interlake Region, Manitoba
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