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Egilsstaðir () is a town in 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 ...
on the banks of the
Lagarfljót Lagarfljót () also called Fljótið is a river situated in the east of Iceland near Egilsstaðir. Its surface measures and it is long; its greatest width is and its greatest depth . The 27 MW Lagarfossvirkjun hydropower station is located at ...
river. It is part of the municipality of
Múlaþing Múlaþing () is a municipality in eastern Iceland which was formed in 2020 from the merger of Fljótsdalshérað, Seyðisfjörður, Borgarfjarðarhreppur and Djúpavogshreppur. It is the second largest municipality in the country by area (th ...
and the largest settlement of the Eastern Region with, as of 2024, a population of 2,632 inhabitants. Formerly Egilsstaðir was part of
Norður-Múlasýsla Iceland was historically divided into 23 counties known as ''sýslur'' (), and 23 independent towns known as ''kaupstaðir'' (). Iceland is now split up between 24 sýslumenn (magistrates) that are the highest authority over the local police ( ...
.


Overview

Egilsstadir is located . The town is young, even by Icelandic standards where urbanization is a fairly recent trend compared to mainland Europe. It was established in 1947 as an effort by the surrounding rural districts recognizing it had become a regional service centre. The town takes name from an individual farmstead and is in this respect relatively unique within the country where most or all of the towns take name from broader landmarks. It is near the bridge over Lagarfljót where all the main roads of the region meet, Route 1 as well as the main routes to the Eastern Region. Egilsstaðir has grown to become the largest town of East Iceland and its main service, transportation, and administration centre. The town has an
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 ...
, college, and a hospital. The town grew quickly during the economic boom in the region from 2004 to 2008 associated with the building of the
Kárahnjúkar Hydropower Plant Kárahnjúkar Hydropower Plant ( ), officially called Fljótsdalur Power Station ( ) is a hydroelectric power plant in Fljótsdalshérað municipality in eastern Iceland, designed to produce annually for Alcoa's Fjarðaál Aluminium smelting, alu ...
and
Alcoa Alcoa Corporation (an acronym for "Aluminum Company of America") is an American industrial corporation. It is the world's eighth-largest producer of aluminum. Alcoa conducts operations in 10 countries. Alcoa is a major producer of primary alu ...
's aluminium smelting plant in
Reyðarfjörður Reyðarfjörður () is a town in Iceland. It has a population of 1,368 (2024) 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 In physical g ...
. The growth has slowed markedly since the banking collapse in 2008.


History

In written accounts, Egilsstaðir is first mentioned in the 15th century as a place for legislative assembly. Nothing is therefore known with certainty about the individual person Egil lending it its name, the only conjecture to this effect met with in books detailing the story of the town is that it may be named after Egil Síðu-Hallsson, but Hallr at Síða was a captain in the east and an uncle to Rollo in France, but this guess is of controlled probability and most likely the person left no other record of himself. The nearby river Eyvindará is mentioned in the Saga of the Sons of Droplaug and Saga of the inhabitants of Fljótsdalur. Urbanization in Egilsstaðir can be traced to Jón Bergsson (1855–1923), a farmer, who laid the groundwork for increased commerce and services at the Egilsstaðir farm by erecting a large residential building there at the start of the 20th century. The house is still in use as a hotel. Jón bought the farm Egilsstaðr at the close of the 19th century because of its location when he predicted "Crossroads will be here", which proved prescient. Along with others, Jón Bergsson also took the initiative to establish the co-operative Kaupfélag Héraðsbúa (KHB) with headquarters there in 1909. In subsequent years, bridges were built over Lagarfljót river and Eyvindará river and a road made over Fagridalur to
Reyðarfjörður Reyðarfjörður () is a town in Iceland. It has a population of 1,368 (2024) 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 In physical g ...
. Later, the regional headquarters for mail and telephone services were located at Egilsstaðir. In 1947 Egilsstaðir was incorporated as a town and a rural jurisdiction Egilsstaðahreppur, with neighbouring jurisdictions Vallahreppur and Eiðahreppur joining the new jurisdiction. The town soon grew and by 1980 the population exceeded 1000. In 1987, the status of the town was upgraded to kaupstaður and renamed Egilsstaðabær, or the town of Egilsstaðir. In early 2011, the population was 2,257 and had increased by 41 percent from 2001, when 1,600 were registered there. On 7 June 1998 Egilsstaðabær was united with Vallahreppur, Skriðdalshreppur, Eiðahreppur and Hjaltastaðarhreppur under the name '' Austur-Hérað''. Austur-Hérað then became Fljótsdalshérað in 2004. In 2020 it joined other municipalities to form
Múlaþing Múlaþing () is a municipality in eastern Iceland which was formed in 2020 from the merger of Fljótsdalshérað, Seyðisfjörður, Borgarfjarðarhreppur and Djúpavogshreppur. It is the second largest municipality in the country by area (th ...
.


Climate

Depending on isotherm, Egilsstaðir has a
subarctic climate The subarctic climate (also called subpolar climate, or boreal climate) is a continental climate with long, cold (often very cold) winters, and short, warm to cool summers. It is found on large landmasses, often away from the moderating effects of ...
(
Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...
: ''Dfc'') or a
subpolar oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring co ...
(''Cfc'') bordering very closely on a
Tundra In physical geography, a tundra () is a type of biome where tree growth is hindered by frigid temperatures and short growing seasons. There are three regions and associated types of tundra: #Arctic, Arctic, Alpine tundra, Alpine, and #Antarctic ...
climate (''ET)''. Winters there tend to be colder than other towns in the area, and summers tend to have daytime highs often exceeding , higher than most of Iceland, but at night it is colder than most towns with a similar climate. The town being at a relatively low elevation somewhat shielded from maritime winds enables warmer air to stay for longer than in coastal areas, although the effect of southerlies become negated by high mountains blocking such winds, and as a result Egilsstaðir still has a lot cooler summers than continental Nordic climates have on similar latitudes. Egilsstaðir being relatively close to the east coast also increased the maritime moderation both in summer and winter. With Central Iceland being at a
highland Highlands or uplands are areas of high elevation such as a mountainous region, elevated mountainous plateau or high hills. Generally, ''upland'' refers to a range of hills, typically from up to , while ''highland'' is usually reserved for range ...
tundra In physical geography, a tundra () is a type of biome where tree growth is hindered by frigid temperatures and short growing seasons. There are three regions and associated types of tundra: #Arctic, Arctic, Alpine tundra, Alpine, and #Antarctic ...
, the Egilsstaðir area is still the warmest for 1961–1990 summer maxima among Icelandic weather stations for populated areas. The figures here given for precipitation days and sunshine hours belong to Grímsárvirkjun and Hallormsstaður, which are and away from Egilsstaðir respectively and get around more precipitation than Egilsstaðir, so it is possible that Egilsstaðir has fewer days with precipitation and gets more sunlight than stated below. The highest temperature recorded is on 11 August 2004, recorded at Egilsstaðir Airport. The climate has significantly warmed in recent years, as seen in the climate averages for the 1991–2020 reference period.


Points of interest

* Eiðar longwave transmitter *
Kárahnjúkar Hydropower Plant Kárahnjúkar Hydropower Plant ( ), officially called Fljótsdalur Power Station ( ) is a hydroelectric power plant in Fljótsdalshérað municipality in eastern Iceland, designed to produce annually for Alcoa's Fjarðaál Aluminium smelting, alu ...
*
Hallormsstaðaskógur Hallormsstaður National Forest () or Hallormsstaðaskógur is located in Fljótsdalur east Iceland, about 25 kilometers inland from the town of Egilsstaðir. It is one of the larger forests in Iceland, covering 740 hectares (ha), an ...
– the biggest forest in Iceland * Hengifoss – a waterfall in Fljótsdalur * Skriðuklaustur – the mansion of writer Gunnar Gunnarsson * Öxi – mountain road between Egilsstaðir and Djúpivogur


Notable natives

* Sveinn Birkir Björnsson – former editor of the Reykjavík Grapevine * Sigmar Vilhjálmsson – Iceland TV host * Hjálmar Jónsson – Iceland national team footballer *
Vilhjálmur Einarsson Vilhjálmur Einarsson (5 June 1934 – 28 December 2019) was an Icelandic track and field athlete, and triple-jump silver medalist at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia. Vilhjálmur grew up in the East-Icelandic fishing villag ...
, triple-jump athlete, silver medal winner at the 1956 Olympic games * Magnús Ver Magnússon, four times
World's Strongest Man The World's Strongest Man is an international strongman competition held every year. Organized by American event management company IMG, a subsidiary of Endeavor, it is broadcast in the US during summers and in the UK around the end of Decemb ...
(1991, 1994, 1995, and 1996)


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Egilsstadir Populated places in Eastern Region (Iceland) Populated places established in 1947 1947 establishments in Iceland