Bíldudalur () is a village situated on the coast of

Arnarfjörður Arnarfjörður () is a large fjord in the Westfjords region of Iceland. "Arnar" is the genitive case of "Örn" , the name of the first settler of the fjord. Description The fjord is 30 km long, five to ten km wide, and is oriented NW/SE. It ...

, one of the

Westfjords The Westfjords or West Fjords ( is, Vestfirðir , ISO 3166-2:IS: IS-4) is a large peninsula in northwestern Iceland and an administrative district, the least populous administrative district. It lies on the Denmark Strait, facing the east coas ...

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 is situated in the Vesturbyggð municipality and has 238 inhabitants (as of January 2021). The village prospered in the 19th century thanks to sound business enterprise and the booming fishing industry.

Ólafur Thorlacius Ólafur () is a common name in Iceland, derived from the Old Norse Óláfr , meaning "ancestor's relic". According to Icelandic custom, people are generally referred to by first and middle names and patronyms are used if disambiguation is require ...

(1761–1815) set up business in Bíldudalur following the end of the

Danish trade monopoly Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish ance ...

. He was one of the most influential businessmen in Iceland at the beginning of the 19th century. He bought and sold fish, traded goods and ran his own small fishing fleet. One of his successors,

Pétur J. Thorsteinsson Pétur Jens Thorsteinsson (4 June 1854 – 27 July 1929) was an Icelandic businessman, merchant and entrepreneur. He was one of the key founders of Milljónarfélagið along with Thor Jensen. Family Pétur was married to Ásthildur Guðmund ...

(1854–1924) successfully continued this operation. In the late 20th and early 21st centuries, the decline of the fishing industry and the imposition of strict quotas by the Icelandic government led the town to diversify its economy. The village is now home to a factory, which provides employment to many residents, processing a mineral-rich algae found in abundance in the fjord. The village is also becoming a popular tourist destination, especially for fishing trips and for artists seeking to gain inspiration from the spectacular scenery. Close by the town there is also a fjord of literary significance, Geirþjófsfjörður, where the Icelandic

Gísla saga ''Gísla saga Súrssonar'' (, ''The saga of Gísli the Outlaw'') is one of the sagas of Icelanders. It tells the story of Gísli, a tragic hero who must kill one of his brothers-in-law to avenge another brother-in-law. Gisli is forced to stay on th ...

was played out.

Transport

The village and neighbouring area is served by Bíldudalur Airport.

References

External links

Bíldudalur
- on eaglefjord.is Populated places in Westfjords {{iceland-geo-stub