Málmey () is an uninhabited island off the northern 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 ...

, one of the three islands in the Skagafjörður bay, along with

Drangey Drangey () or Drang Isle is an uninhabited island in the Skagafjörður fjord in northern Iceland. It is the remnant of a 700,000‑year‑old volcano, mostly made of volcanic palagonite tuff, forming a massive rock fortress. The island was fir ...

and Lundey. It is located on the east side of the bay. Málmey is a long and narrow island, about 4 km long and about 1 km wide, and it is narrower at both the northern and southern ends. It is surrounded by cliffs on all sides, and it reaches an elevation of 156 m above sea level in its northern part. On the southeast of the island there is a lighthouse which was built in 1937. The island was inhabited until 1950, when a fire destroyed the farm which housed 14 people and it has remained uninhabited since. Málmey is now property of the Lighthouse and Port authority of Iceland, and is only accessible by boat. Málmey is mentioned in the

Sturlunga saga ''Sturlunga saga'' (often called simply ''Sturlunga'') is a collection of Icelandic Norse saga, sagas by various authors from the 12th and 13th centuries; it was assembled in about 1300, in Old Norse. It mostly deals with the story of the Sturlun ...

as the place where, in 1221, the bishop

Guðmundur Arason Guðmundur Arason (; 1161 – March 16, 1237; ) was an influential 12th and 13th century Icelandic saintly bishop who took part in increasing the powers of the Catholic Church in medieval Iceland. His story is recorded in several manuscrip ...

flees to escape Tumi Sighvatsson and his men, who threatened to kill him. Guðmundur left the island on Easter day, after his followers had killed Tumi Sighvatsson.

References

Islands of Iceland Uninhabited islands of Iceland Lighthouses in Iceland Skagafjörður {{Iceland-geo-stub