Bakkafjörður () is a small

fishing village A fishing village is a village, usually located near a fishing ground, with an economy based on catching fish and harvesting seafood. The continents and islands around the world have coastlines totalling around 356,000 kilometres (221,000 ...

in North-East

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

, located in a

fjord In physical geography, a fjord (also spelled fiord in New Zealand English; ) is a long, narrow sea inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created by a glacier. Fjords exist on the coasts of Antarctica, the Arctic, and surrounding landmasses of the n ...

with the same name. The village has 72 inhabitants and is part of the regional service center of

Langanesbyggð Langanesbyggð () is a municipality in northeastern Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is ...

district in Northeastern Region.

History

Hróðgeir hvíti Hrappsson was the first to occupy Sandvík. He lived near Skeggjastaðir and Sandvík, which is now called Bakkafjörður but Sandvíkurheiði (between Bakkafjörður and

Vopnafjörður Vopnafjörður (, meaning ''weapon fjord'') is a village and municipality in Northeast Iceland, standing on a peninsula in the middle of a mountainous bay by the same name. The main industries of Vopnafjörður are fish processing, agriculture an ...

), still bears the ancient name. The largest farm at Sandvík was likely Höfn. Built in the 1800s somewhere in modern day Bakkafjördur. Later on, more houses were built on Hafnartangi. Most of these original houses were demolished except for one. ''Halldórsshús'' was built in 1900. It was owned by Halldór, who ran his shop until his death in 1920. His trading house is still stands on the tang and is often referred to as the merchant's house or Halldórshús. In Höfn, the port facilities were poor, despite the name, but boats lay by clapping at Hafnartangi and the catch was pulled (or carried up) ashore, directly to the house. In the early 1900s, around the trade and fish receptions that had then begun to form so-called grass farms in Hafnar's land with a small stock, a few

cows Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, bovid ungulates widely kept as livestock. They are prominent modern members of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus '' Bos''. Mature female cattle are called co ...

and

sheep Sheep (: sheep) or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are a domesticated, ruminant mammal typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus '' Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to d ...

, but most of those who lived on them also engaged to some extent in

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment (Freshwater ecosystem, freshwater or Marine ecosystem, marine), but may also be caught from Fish stocking, stocked Body of water, ...

. The main grass farms include Steinholt, Lindarbrekku, Bjarg and Bergholt. Some of these farms are still standing in some form and even inhabited in some houses, though not with animals. After Halldórs death, Jakob Gunnlaugsson's Store in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

established a branch in Bakkafjörður, as Halldór had had a main business dealings with that company. The first

telephone A telephone, colloquially referred to as a phone, is a telecommunications device that enables two or more users to conduct a conversation when they are too far apart to be easily heard directly. A telephone converts sound, typically and most ...

of the town came between Vopnafjörður and Bakkafjörður in

1916 Events Below, the events of the First World War have the "WWI" prefix. January * January 1 – The British Empire, British Royal Army Medical Corps carries out the first successful blood transfusion, using blood that has been stored ...

. (A rural telephone later came in 1954.) In 1933 work began on the so-called Bakkafjörður road, a road around the countryside. In 1949, a road connection was finally established between Bakkafjörður and

Þórshöfn Þórshöfn () or Thorshofn is a small fishing village in northeast Iceland, located on the northern coast of the Langanes peninsula on the Þistilfjörður bay. The village has a population of 380 people. It is the administrative centre of Lan ...

over Brekknaheiði, after many years of work. Funds were first granted for the road in 1936, but construction did not begin in full until 1943. With the road, Langanesströnd and Bakkafjörður were connected to the country's road network for the first time. A road over Sandvíkurheiði between Bakkafjörður and Vopnafjörður was built in 1955-1960. Around 1945, the construction of a

harbour A harbor (American English), or harbour (Commonwealth English; see American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, spelling differences), is a sheltered body of water where ships, boats, and barges can be Mooring, moored. The t ...

pier A pier is a raised structure that rises above a body of water and usually juts out from its shore, typically supported by piling, piles or column, pillars, and provides above-water access to offshore areas. Frequent pier uses include fishing, b ...

on Bakkafjörður began, for the first time. Casting was done on top of the

skerry A skerry ( ) is a small rocky island, or islet, usually too small for human habitation. It may simply be a rocky reef. A skerry can also be called a low stack (geology), sea stack. A skerry may have vegetative life such as moss and small, ...

rocks, which were cut just below the Hafnartang, and there a

was created with a small wall. It was later lengthened around 1970 with the help of the

Icelandic Coast Guard The Icelandic Coast Guard (, or simply ) is the Icelandic defence service responsible for search and rescue, maritime safety and security surveillance, national defense, and law enforcement. The Coast Guard maintains the Iceland Air Defence ...

. A major problem at the port was the fact that the fishermen were not allowed to use the port crane to hoist the fish out of the boats. Because of this, most of the fishermen would use small crates or simply throw the fish onto a trailer. A small

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

was built not far from the village. However, it did not come with a

hangar A hangar is a building or structure designed to hold aircraft or spacecraft. Hangars are built of metal, wood, or concrete. The word ''hangar'' comes from Middle French ''hanghart'' ("enclosure near a house"), of Germanic origin, from Frankish ...

, and funding for it from the public sector was repeatedly postponed. More often than not, the locals took matters into their own hands. In 1979, the

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

bought one of the so-called emergency fund houses; it was moved east and used as a hangar. This would have been unique as the hangar was built without the involvement of the Civil Aviation Authority. This hangar was in use throughout the life of the airport. In the end the airport was closed around the early 2000s.

Sights

Skeggjastaðakirkja is the oldest church in eastern Iceland can be visited at Skeggjastaðir, a farm on the main road close to Bakkafjörður. The wooden church which was built in 1845 seats about 100 persons, and it was renovated in its authentic style from 1961 to 1962 and reopened on 16 September 1962. The pulprit and the interior were made of

driftwood Driftwood is a wood that has been washed onto a shore or beach of a sea, lake, or river by the action of winds, tides or waves. It is part of beach wrack. In some waterfront areas, driftwood is a major nuisance. However, the driftwood provides ...

. The altar painting dates from 1857. The small tower with three old bells were added in 1962. Legend has it that there has always been a church dedicated to Saint Thorlákur here since the

Christianization of Iceland Iceland was Christianized in the year 1000 AD, when Christianity was legally adopted as the official religion by decision of the Althing. In Icelandic, this event is known as the (literally, "the taking of Christianity"). The vast majority of ...

in 1000. Permission to view the church must be obtained at Skeggjastaðir, however requests are rarely turned down.

Digranes

lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lens (optics), lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Ligh ...

was built in 1943-1947 and is 18,4 m tall. From Digranes, the view over

Bakkaflói Bakkaflói () is a bay in the northeastern region of Iceland. It is north of Bakkafjordur and southeast of Langanes Langanes () is a peninsula in northeast Iceland. The name literally means "long peninsula". It is long from southwest to northea ...

is like no other.

References

External links

travelnet.is page on BakkafjörðurOfficial village page (Icelandic)
*https://www.langanesstrond.is/ Populated places in Northeastern Region (Iceland) {{iceland-fjord-stub