Skagafjörður () is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

that covers most of the land area of the region around the

fjord In physical geography, a fjord (also spelled fiord in New Zealand English; ) is a long, narrow sea inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created by a glacier. Fjords exist on the coasts of Antarctica, the Arctic, and surrounding landmasses of the n ...

with the same name (see

Skagafjörður Skagafjörður () is a deep fjord and its valley in northern Iceland. Location Skagafjörður, the fjord, is about 40 km long and 15 km wide, situated between Tröllaskagi to the east and the Skagi, Skagi Peninsula to the west. Ther ...

for details on the region) in northern

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 ...

Overview

The municipality was created in 1998 when 11 out of the 12 municipalities in Skagafjörður held votes on whether they should merge or not. The merge was approved in all the municipalities that held the vote. Akrahreppur was the only municipality in Skagafjörður that did not participate. In February 2022, residents of Akrahreppur and Skagafjörður voted to merge into a single municipality; the merger will be formalized in the spring of 2022. The merge joined the town of

Sauðárkrókur Sauðárkrókur () is a Localities of Iceland, town on the Skagafjörður in northern Iceland. It is the seat of both the Skagafjörður (municipality), Sveitarfélagið Skagafjörður ('Municipality of Skagafjörður') and the Northwestern Re ...

, the villages of Hofsós and Varmahlíð and several rural districts. It also includes the historic

cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

site of Hólar which is the site of a growing

university A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

today.

Localities

* Ábær * Hofsós * Hólar * Keta * Miklibær * Reynistaður *

* Silfrastaðir * Varmahlíð * Viðvík

Twin towns – sister cities

Skagafjörður is twinned with: *

Espoo Espoo (, ; ) is a city in Finland. It is located to the west of the capital, Helsinki, in southern Uusimaa. The population is approximately . It is the most populous Municipalities of Finland, municipality in Finland. Espoo is part of the Helsi ...

, Finland *

Køge Køge (, older spelling ''Kjøge'') is a Danish seaport on the coast of Køge Bugt (''Bay of Køge'') 39 km southwest of Copenhagen. It is the principal town and seat of Køge Municipality, Region Sjælland (Zealand), Denmark. In 2025, the ...

, Denmark *

Kongsberg Kongsberg () is a historical mining town and municipality in Buskerud county, Norway. The city is located on the river Numedalslågen at the entrance to the valley of Numedal. Kongsberg has been a centre of silver mining, arms production and fo ...

, Norway *

Kristianstad Kristianstad ( , ) is a Urban areas in Sweden, city and the seat of Kristianstad Municipality, Scania County, Sweden with 41,198 inhabitants in 2023. Since the 1990s, the city has gone from being a garrison town to a developed commercial city, ...

, Sweden

References

Municipalities of Iceland Northwestern Region (Iceland) Skagafjörður {{Iceland-geo-stub