Húsavík () is a town in Norðurþing municipality on the northeast coast of

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 shores of Skjálfandi bay with 2,485 inhabitants. The most famous landmark of the town is the wooden church Húsavíkurkirkja, built in 1907. Húsavík is served by Húsavík Airport.

Overview

Here income is derived from tourism and fishing, as well as from retail and small industries. Until 2004, Húsavík was the export harbour for

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that was extracted from nearby lake Mývatn. According to the '' Landnámabók'' ("Book of Settlement"), Húsavík was the first place in Iceland to be settled in by a Norseman. The Swedish

Viking Vikings were seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway, and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded, and settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9� ...

Garðar Svavarsson stayed there for one winter around 870 A.D. When he left the island in spring of 870, after a winter's stay, he left behind a man named Náttfari and two slaves, a man and a woman, and they established a farm there. The name of the town means "bay of houses", probably referring to Garðar's homestead, which was probably the only houses then in Iceland.

Tourism

Húsavík has become a centre of whale watching in Iceland due to whales of different species that frequently enter the bay. The Húsavík Whale Museum is located in the town centre by the harbour. In the town there is also a civic museum of culture and biology. Among other things, it shows a stuffed

polar bear The polar bear (''Ursus maritimus'') is a large bear native to the Arctic and nearby areas. It is closely related to the brown bear, and the two species can Hybrid (biology), interbreed. The polar bear is the largest extant species of bear ...

(arrived in Grímsey in 1969) and ancient boats. Each year in mid July, Húsavík holds a festival called ''Mærudagar'' , which translates to “Candy Days”. Thousands of people from all over Iceland come to the tiny town to enjoy this occasion which consists of music, colourful decorations, and an array of food and drink. Húsavík is also home to The Exploration Museum, a museum of the history of human exploration. A monument honouring the Apollo astronauts who got trained up around Húsavík during the 1960s is located outside the museum. The Eurovision Museum, dedicated to the Eurovision Song Contest, had its soft opening in October 2021, with the official grand opening in 2022. The region of Mývatn, with its interesting geology and diverse animal life, is nearby. Jökulsárgljúfur National Park with the horseshoe-shaped canyon Ásbyrgi and the waterfalls Dettifoss, Hafragilsfoss and Selfoss are also not far from the town. Húsavík Airport is located close to the town. Until 2024, there were regular flights to Reykjavík Airport. The Vaðlaheiðargöng tunnel opened in 2019 which shortened the travel time to

Akureyri Akureyri (, ) is a town in northern Iceland, the country's fifth most populous Municipalities of Iceland, municipality (under the official name of Akureyrarbær , 'town of Akureyri') and the largest outside the Capital Region (Iceland), Capital R ...

to within an hour. Flights from Húsavík Airport have therefore ceased.

Sports

ÍF Völsungur is the local football club. They last played in Iceland's top tier in the 1988 season. The town also offers many opportunities for recreational sports. A 9 hole golf course, hiking and walking paths, two gym facilities and an outdoor public swimming pool.

Popular culture

Húsavík served as the setting of the 2020

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film '' Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga'', a comedic story of two Húsavík natives representing Iceland in the Eurovision Song Contest, with one of the film's songs named after the town. The song itself was nominated for the

Academy Award for Best Original Song The Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the Film industry, motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is presented to the ''songwriters'' who h ...

at the 93rd Academy Awards. The song's taped Best Original Song performance was filmed on location in Húsavík. In a break with Oscar tradition, all five songs had their performances pre-taped due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

instead of being performed live. "Húsavík" was the only one of the five nominated songs to have its pre-taped performance taking place outside of the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. On 25 April 2021, the performance was aired along with pre-taped performances of the other four nominated songs in that year's category. All five song performances were shown during the red carpet pre-show special that took place just before the main ceremony began. Residents of the town reported a significant jump in tourism following the film's release. In 2021, The Eurovision Museum opened in Húsavík telling the story of the song contest and the film.

International relations

Twin towns – Sister cities

* Karlskoga, Sweden *

Fredrikstad Fredrikstad (; previously ''Frederiksstad''; literally "Fredrik's Town") is a List of cities in Norway, city and Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Østfold Counties of Norway, county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipal ...

, Norway * Riihimäki, Finland * Aalborg, Denmark * Qeqertarsuaq, Greenland * Fuglafjørður, Faroe Islands * Eastport, Maine, USA

Climate

Húsavík has either a warm-summer humid continental climate (

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 ...

: ''Dfb'') or an oceanic climate (

: ''Cfb'') depending on the isotherm used, or , similar to much of coastal Iceland.

Daylight hours

Húsavík experiences

midnight sun Midnight sun, also known as polar day, is a natural phenomenon that occurs in the summer months in places north of the Arctic Circle or south of the Antarctic Circle, when the Sun remains visible at the local midnight. When midnight sun is see ...

from 11 June until 29 June. Although Húsavík doesn't experience polar night in December solstice, the shortest daylight hours in Húsavík are 2 hours 45 minutes, from 11:45 UTC until 14:30 UTC on 21 December.

Gallery

File:Husavik Harbor 2006.jpg, Húsavík harbour File:Husavik1.jpg, Church of Húsavík, Húsavíkurkirkja File:Husavik whales.JPG, Whales in Skjalfandi near Húsavík

References

External links

Official tourist information website Official website

Whalewatching and information about whalesHúsavík whale watching
{{DEFAULTSORT:Husavik Populated places in Northeastern Region (Iceland)