Skagaströnd (), previously Höfðakaupstaður (), 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 ...

and village in the Northwestern Region of

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 ...

. It is situated on the western side of the Skagi peninsula, along the east coast of the

Húnaflói Húnaflói (, "Huna Bay") is a large bay between Strandir and Skagaströnd in Iceland. It is about wide and long. The towns Blönduós and Skagaströnd are located on the bay's eastern side. Fauna The bay has been proposed as a protecte ...

('Húna Bay'). The municipality was officially named Sveitarfélagið Skagaströnd on 1 September 2007. Skagaströnd is the only

locality Locality may refer to: * Locality (association), an association of community regeneration organizations in England * Locality (linguistics) * Locality (settlement) * Suburbs and localities (Australia), in which a locality is a geographic subdivis ...

within the municipality.

Geography

Sveitarfélagið Skagaströnd is bordered to the north and south by the municipality of Skagabyggð and to the east by Sveitarfélagið Skagafjörður. Measuring just , it is the sixth smallest municipality in Iceland by land area. The only village within the municipality is the now eponymous village of Skagaströnd, which lies at the foot of the Spákonufell (; 'Seeress' Mountain'), a culturally significant landmark and the highest point in Sveitarfélagið Skagaströnd, standing above sea level. On the northwest edge of the village is the Spákonufellshöfði (; ' Headland of the Spákonufell'), a nature preserve and park. The nearest town is

Blönduós Blönduós () is a town and former municipality in the north of Iceland with a population of 895 in 2018. Like many towns and villages around Iceland, Blönduós did not emerge as a village until the late 19th century. The town is situated on Ro ...

, to the south. Road 74, by which Skagaströnd is connected to Route 1, begins at Blönduós' eastern limit. Skagaströnd is situated as the crow flies east-northeast of Sauðárkrókur, the regional capital of the Northwestern Region; however, due to the rough terrain the journey between the two settlements by road is more than .

Name

The name Skagaströnd translates to 'Coast of the Skagi' or, literally, 'Coast of the Peninsula,' from the Icelandic ''skagi'' , meaning 'peninsula' – which also serves as the proper name of the peninsula on which the municipality is located – and ''strönd'' meaning 'coast, beach, shore.' Skagaströnd originally referred to the entire shoreline extending from the northern tip of the Skagi peninsula to the mouth of the Laxá í Refasveit (also called Laxá-Ytri), a small river that empties into the Húnaflói north of Blönduós. The area historically hosted a number of ''verstöðvar'', traditional fishing outposts and communal mooring places. The northern point of the Skagi is now situated in the northern portion of Skagabyggð and the Laxá í Refasveit forms the boundary between the municipality of Blönduósbær and the southern portion of Skagabyggð. Today, the name Skagaströnd is most often used to refer to the settlement and municipality, however, it is also used by Icelanders to refer to the traditional coastal area.

Twin towns

Skagaströnd is twinned with: *

Lohja Lohja (; sv, Lojo) is a city and municipality in the Uusimaa region of Finland. The city has a population of 47,518 (2017), and it covers an area of of which , or 8.3 percent, is water. The population density of Lohja is . The municipality is b ...

, Finland *

Växjö Växjö ( ) is a city and the seat of Växjö Municipality, Kronoberg County, Sweden. It had 70,489 inhabitants (2019) out of a municipal population of 95,995 (2021). It is the administrative, cultural, and industrial centre of Kronoberg County ...

, Sweden

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Skagastrond Municipalities of Iceland Populated places in Northwestern Region (Iceland)