Fáskrúðsfjörður (; previously named also Búðir ) is a village (''þorp'') in eastern

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 has a population of 662 (as of 2011) and constitutes one of the villages composing the municipality of

Fjarðabyggð Fjarðabyggð () is a municipality located in eastern Iceland, in the Eastern Region. History The municipality was formed in 1998 with the union of the former municipalities of Eskifjörður, Neskaupstaður and Reyðarfjörður. Austurbyggð, F ...

Geography

Fáskrúðsfjörður, located on the same-named

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, Icela ...

, lies between Reyðarfjörður and Stöðvarfjörður. It is one of the easternmost settlements of Iceland. The other neighbouring villages which compose the municipality of Fjarðabyggð are:

Eskifjörður Eskifjörður (in original spelling; ), or Eskifjördur is a town and port in eastern Iceland with a large fishing industry. With a population of 1,043 it is one of the most populous towns in the municipality of Fjarðabyggð. History Eskifjörðu ...

(1,043 inh.), Mjóifjörður (35 inh.),

Neskaupstaður Neskaupstaður () is a town located on the fjord Norðfjörður on the eastern side of Iceland. It is part of the municipality of Fjarðabyggð and, as of 2016, it has a population of 1,481. Neskaupstaður is the third largest town in Eastern Reg ...

(1,437 inh.),

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.) and Stöðvarfjörður (203 inh.).

History and culture

Fáskrúðsfjörður was home to a hospital founded to serve French fishermen working here until 1935. The former hospital building dating from 1903 has now been restored as a hotel. Even nowadays there are bilingual signs in town indicating the street names in Icelandic and in French. The French cemetery with 49 graves of fishermen from France and Belgium is another tourist attraction. The cross was erected in 2009. The village is now a centre for visitors viewing the Northern Lights.

Attractions

There are tour operators offering trips by boat to the small uninhabited island Skrúður which is famous for its large variety of sea birds, especially for its puffins. In the east of Fáskrúðsfjörður, on the farm ''Kolfreyjustaður'' a church (''Kolfreyjustaðakirkja'') was built of driftwood in 1878, which is famous for its wall paintings dating from 1957 and for its

retable A retable is a structure or element placed either on or immediately behind and above the altar or communion table of a church. At the minimum it may be a simple shelf for candles behind an altar, but it can also be a large and elaborate structur ...

painted by the Danish artist Niels Anker Lund (1840–1922). ''Vattarnesviti'' is an orange lighthouse on the peninsula of ''Vattarnes'' in the northeast of Fáskrúðsfjörður built in 1957.

Twin towns

Gravelines Gravelines (, ; ; ) is a commune in the Nord department in Northern France. It lies at the mouth of the river Aa southwest of Dunkirk. It was formed in the 12th century around the mouth of a canal built to connect Saint-Omer with the sea. As ...

(

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

)

Photogallery

File:Faskrudsfjordur-5.jpg, Winter in Fáskrúðsfjörður File:Faskrudsfjördur 1.jpg, Restaurant Café Sumarlína File:Southeast across Fáskrúðsfjörður.jpg, Scenic view near Fáskrúðsfjörður File:Town_of_Fáskrúðsfjörður.jpg, East to the village of Fáskrúðsfjörður File:Faskrudsfjördur 2.jpg, View of the port File:Skrudur_1.jpg, Skrúður, a rocky island close to Fáskrúðsfjörður File:Fáskrúðsfjöður Le cimetière français.jpg, French cemetery File:Fáskrúðsfjörður bilingualroadsign.jpg, Street names in Icelandic and French

References

External links

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