Kópavogur () is a town 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 ...

that is the country's second largest municipality by population. It lies immediately 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 ...

and is part of the Capital Region. The name literally means ''seal pup inlet''. The town seal contains the profile of the church

Kópavogskirkja Kópavogskirkja () is a church in Kópavogur, Iceland. It is located on Borgarholt hill at the top of Kársnes and offers a great view over Kópavogur, Reykjavík and surrounding area. Work on it began in 1958 and it was opened on December 16 ...

with a

seal Seal may refer to any of the following: Common uses * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, or "true seal" ** Fur seal * Seal (emblem), a device to imp ...

pup underneath. Kópavogur is largely made up of residential areas, but has commercial areas and much industrial activity as well. The tallest building in Iceland, the

Smáratorg Tower Smáratorg 3 () is an office and retail building in Iceland. It is the tallest building in Iceland, surpassing Hallgrímskirkja in height, and is the fifth tallest architectural structure in the country after the Eiðar longwave transmitter, th ...

, is located in central Kópavogur.

History

Kópavogur is historically significant as the site of the 1662 Kópavogur meeting. This event marked the total incorporation of Iceland into

Denmark–Norway Denmark–Norway ( Danish and Norwegian: ) was an early modern multi-national and multi-lingual real unionFeldbæk 1998:11 consisting of the Kingdom of Denmark, the Kingdom of Norway (including the then Norwegian overseas possessions: the Faroe ...

when, on behalf of the Icelandic people,

Bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ...

Brynjólfur Sveinsson and Árni Oddsson, a lawyer, signed a document confirming that the introduction of

absolute monarchy Absolute monarchy (or Absolutism as a doctrine) is a form of monarchy in which the monarch rules in their own right or power. In an absolute monarchy, the king or queen is by no means limited and has absolute power, though a limited constituti ...

Frederick III of Denmark Frederick III ( da, Frederik; 18 March 1609 – 9 February 1670) was King of Denmark and Norway from 1648 until his death in 1670. He also governed under the name Frederick II as diocesan administrator (colloquially referred to as prince-b ...

–Norway also applied to Iceland. Kópavogur is also one of Iceland's most prominent sites for Icelandic urban legends about the

huldufólk or hidden people are elves in Icelandic and Faroese folklore. They are supernatural beings that live in nature. They look and behave similarly to humans, but live in a parallel world. They can make themselves visible at will. cites a 19th- ...

; it also features in this capacity in the 2010 film ''

Sumarlandið ''Summerland'' () is an 80-minute 2010 Icelandic film, written and directed by Grímur Hákonarson, released by Blueeyes Productions/Sögn ehf. The film is set in Kópavogur, a suburb of Reykjavík strongly associated with urban legends about ...

'', where the stone Grásteinn is portrayed as an elf-house in the Kópavogur municipality. An independent township, Kópavogur is adjacent to Reykjavík.

Sports

Kópavogur's main sports clubs are Gerpla, Breiðablik and HK. In 2010 Breiðablik clinched their first Icelandic league title in football and in 2012 HK won their first Icelandic league title in team handball. The town is also home to the hardcore strongman and

powerlifting Powerlifting is a strength sport that consists of three attempts at maximal weight on three lifts: squat, bench press, and deadlift. As in the sport of Olympic weightlifting, it involves the athlete attempting a maximal weight single-lift effo ...

training facility 'Thor's Power Gym' owned by the strongest man of all-time

Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson (; transliterated as Hafthor in English, born 26 November 1988), is an Icelandic professional strongman, who is widely regarded as one of the greatest strength athletes of all time. He is the first and only person ...

, which was also the venue for the iconic 501 kg (1,105 lb) World Record

Deadlift The deadlift is a weight training exercise in which a loaded barbell or bar is lifted off the ground to the level of the hips, torso perpendicular to the floor, before being placed back on the ground. It is one of the three powerlifting exerci ...

on 2 May 2020.

Notable people

(born 1988), professional strongman *

Sverrir Ingi Ingason Sverrir Ingi Ingason (born 5 August 1993) is an Icelandic professional footballer who plays as a defender for Greek Super League club PAOK and the Iceland national team. Sverrir previously played for Icelandic club Breiðablik UBK before ...

(born 1993), footballer * Eiður Guðjohnsen (born 1978), footballer *

Emilíana Torrini Emilíana Torrini (born 16 May 1977) is an Icelandic singer and songwriter. She is best known for her 2009 single " Jungle Drum", her 1999 album '' Love in the Time of Science'', and her performance of " Gollum's Song" for the 2002 film '' The L ...

(born 1977), singer

Twin towns – sister cities

Kópavogur is twinned with: * Ammassalik, Greenland *

Tasiilaq Tasiilaq, formerly Ammassalik and Angmagssalik, is a town in the Sermersooq municipality in southeastern Greenland. With 1,985 inhabitants as of 2020, it is the most populous community on the eastern coast, and the seventh-largest town in Gree ...

, Greenland *

Klaksvík Klaksvík is the second largest town of the Faroe Islands behind Tórshavn. The town is located on Borðoy, which is one of the northernmost islands (the Norðoyar). It is the administrative centre of Klaksvík municipality. History The first s ...

, Faroe Islands *

Mariehamn Mariehamn ( , ; fi, Maarianhamina ; la, Portus Mariae) is the capital of Åland, an autonomous territory under Finnish sovereignty. Mariehamn is the seat of the Government and Parliament of Åland, and 40% of the population of Åland live in ...

, Åland Islands, Finland *

Norrköping Norrköping (; ) is a city in the province of Östergötland in eastern Sweden and the seat of Norrköping Municipality, Östergötland County, about 160 km southwest of the national capital Stockholm, 40 km east of county seat Linkö ...

, Sweden *

Odense Odense ( , , ) is the third largest city in Denmark (behind Copenhagen and Aarhus) and the largest city on the island of Funen. As of 1 January 2022, the city proper had a population of 180,863 while Odense Municipality had a population of 20 ...

, Denmark *

Tampere Tampere ( , , ; sv, Tammerfors, ) is a city in the Pirkanmaa region, located in the western part of Finland. Tampere is the most populous inland city in the Nordic countries. It has a population of 244,029; the urban area has a population ...

, Finland *

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; sma, Tråante), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2020, it had a population of 205,332, was the third most populous municipality in Norway, an ...

, Norway *

Wuhan Wuhan (, ; ; ) is the capital of Hubei Province in the People's Republic of China. It is the largest city in Hubei and the most populous city in Central China, with a population of over eleven million, the ninth-most populous Chinese city a ...

, China

Gallery

File:Buses in Kopavogur.JPG, Public buses in Kópavogur File:Kópavogsvöllur.JPG, Kópavogsvöllur stadium File:Strokkur 0.jpg, Artificial geyser File:Pond in the Park (5005578504).jpg, Pond in the park File:Kópavogskirkja 2.JPG, Kópavogur church

References

External links

*
Official website
Municipalities of Iceland Populated places in Capital Region (Iceland) Southwest Iceland {{Iceland-geo-stub