Stöðvarfjörður (; formerly Kirkjuból ) is a village in east

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 ...

. It sits on the Northern shore of the

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, Icel ...

of the same name, is part of the municipality of Fjarðabyggð and has less than 200 inhabitants.

History

Stöðvarfjörður is recorded as (

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and their overseas settlemen ...

: ) in the

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 ove ...

as having been settled by Þórhaddur 'The Old' from

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, and ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and th ...

. Archaeological investigation of the site at the farm Stöð in Stöðvarfjörður has revealed two Viking-age longhouses, the older of which was (from C-14 dating) built shortly after the year 800. It is thought that the settlement was a seasonal camp for fishing and hunting, rather than a permanent settlement. The modern village arose later on the North shore of the fjord.

Geography

Stöðvarfjörður has a harbour and (since the reclassification of Route 96 (Suðurfjarðarvegur) in November 2017) lies on

Route 1 The following highways are numbered 1. For roads numbered A1, see list of A1 roads. For roads numbered B1, see list of B1 roads. For roads numbered M1, see List of M1 roads. For roads numbered N1, see list of N1 roads. For roads numbered S ...

, at the foot of Hellufjall (859m). Most of the village lies on or close to the main street, Fjarðarbraut . The other villages composing the municipality are: Eskifjörður (1,043 inh.), Fáskrúðsfjörður (662 inh.), Mjóifjörður (35 inh.), Neskaupstaður (1,437 inh.), and

Reyðarfjörður Reyðarfjörður () is a town in Iceland. It has a population of 1,350 and is one of the most populated villages that constitute the municipality of Fjarðabyggð. History The town is at the bottom of the eponymous fjord, the largest on the east ...

(1,102 inh.). The nearest weather station (with road webcams) is a
Kambaskriður
. The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Egilsstaðir Airport, which is 75 km (47 mi) away and can be reached within an hour's drive.

Icelandair Icelandair is the flag carrier airline of Iceland, with its corporate head office on the property of Reykjavík Airport in the capital city Reykjavik. Linked from here It is part of the Icelandair Group and operates to destinations on both ...

operates two or three daily flights from

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 p ...

to Egilsstaðir or vice versa and the flight is 1 hour long. There is an unscheduled and unused

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surfac ...

with a grass runway in Breiðdalsvík, 20 km (12 mi) from Stöðvarfjörður. Hornafjörður Airport in

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 ( ...

, which is 180 km (112 mi) away and takes two hours to reach by car. Eagle Air operates two daily flights from

on weekdays with the exception of Tuesday, and one flight on Sundays. Additional flights can be scheduled on specific days in the summer.

is 620 km (385 mi) away. It takes 7 hours and 30 minutes to drive from

. It takes 12 hours by bus as one needs to change the buses and take the bus to

. The buses connecting Egilsstaðir to

stop in Stöðvarfjörður alongside other villages.

Climate

The climate seen in Stöðvarfjörður and nearby areas is

tundra climate The tundra climate is a polar climate sub-type located in high latitudes and high mountains. undra climate https://www.britannica.com/science/tundra-climateThe Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2019 It is classified as ET according to Köppen ...

(ET) because no month has a daily mean above . However, precipitation and winter temperatures have subpolar oceanic (Cfc) characteristics. From November to March, Stöðvarfjörður is warmer than

, even though

has an annual mean temperature 1 °C higher than Stöðvarfjörður.

Economy

Employment was once predominantly found in fishing, though now it is largely textile-based. Most of the young people have left, thus the community youth hall has been closed due to disuse.
Steinasafn Petru
(Petra's Stone Collection) accounts for a modest stream of visitors during the tourist season. There are also galleries
Gallerí Snærós
and Svartholið ) and a handicrafts market in the salthouse (Salthúsið ). At Gallerí Snærós one can find a range of artwork, jewellery and textiles, including products from a local company that designs and manufactures a range of products made from recycled materials
MupiMup
. The town's formerly disused 2800m² fish factory is currently being transformed into th
HERE Creative Centre
which houses workshops for ceramics, wood and metal, art studio spaces, and a recording studio. The centre also hosts live music events, exhibitions, and visiting artists, providing a cultural hub for the town. Accommodation is available at
Kirkjubær
, a former church converted into a guesthouse; at the café / bar / bed & breakfast
Saxa Guesthouse
, formerly Kaffi Steinn), at a campsite, and at th
Óseyri
farmhouse (4 km west of the village). Several other holiday rentals are also available. There is also an internet café / general store (Brekkan , formerly called Svarti Folinn), an outdoor swimming pool, self-service petrol station, ATM, bus stop and other services.

Sights

''Stöðvarfjarðarkirkja'', a Protestant church dating from 1925, is one of the most prominent buildings. It is no longer used as a church. The building was transformed into café and offers accommodation for tourists.

Notable residents

Footballer

Ívar Ingimarsson Ívar Ingimarsson (born 20 August 1977) is an Icelandic former professional footballer who played as a centre back. He began his career in Iceland with Valur and ÍBV before moving to England where, after an initial loan spell with Torquay Un ...

is the best known former inhabitant of the town. His footballing career started at local youth club Súlan, but he is best known for his spell at Reading in England where he played 281 games, 72 of which were in the Premier League.

References

External links

Stöðvarfjörður page on Fjarðabyggð municipal website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stodvarfjordur Populated places in Eastern Region (Iceland) Fjords of Iceland