Skagaströnd (), previously Höfðakaupstaður (), 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' ...

and village in the Northwestern Region 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 ...

. It is situated on the western side of the

Skagi Skagi is the name of the peninsula between Húnaflói and Skagafjörður, which derives its name from Skagi. There used to be three municipalities in Skagi; two were and , now named Húnabyggð and Skagaströnd, on the western side, which bel ...

peninsula, along the east coast of the

Húnaflói (, ) is a bay of the Iceland Sea in Northwestern Region (Iceland), Northwestern Region and Westfjords, Iceland. It is situated between the village of Strandir on peninsula to the west and the of Skagi peninsula to the east. Spanning , it has a ...

('Húna Bay'). The municipality was officially named Sveitarfélagið Skagaströnd on 1 September 2007. Skagaströnd is the only

locality Locality may refer to: * Locality, a historical named location or place in Canada * Locality (association), an association of community regeneration organizations in England * Locality (linguistics) * Locality (settlement) * Suburbs and localitie ...

within the municipality.

Geography

The Skagaströnd municipality is bordered to the north and south by the municipality of

Skagabyggð Skagabyggð () is a former municipality in Iceland. It consisted of two noncontiguous areas which surrounded the municipality of Skagaströnd. In June 2021, residents rejected a proposal to merge the municipality with the neighboring municipaliti ...

and to the east by Sveitarfélagið Skagafjörður. Measuring just , it is the sixth smallest municipality in Iceland by land area. The only village within the municipality is the now eponymous village of Skagaströnd, which lies at the foot of the Spákonufell (; 'Seeress' Mountain'), a culturally significant landmark and the highest point in Skagaströnd, standing above sea level. On the northwest edge of the village is the Spákonufellshöfði (; '

Headland A headland, also known as a head, is a coastal landform, a point of land usually high and often with a sheer drop, that extends into a body of water. It is a type of promontory. A headland of considerable size often is called a cape.Whittow, Jo ...

of the Spákonufell'), a nature preserve and park. The nearest town is

Blönduós Blönduós () is a town and former municipality in the north of Iceland with a population of 895 in 2018. Like many towns and villages around Iceland, Blönduós did not emerge as a village until the late 19th century. The town is situated on Rou ...

, to the south. Road 74, by which Skagaströnd is connected to

Route 1 The following highways are numbered 1. For roads numbered A1, see list of A1 roads. For roads numbered B1, see list of B1 roads. For roads numbered M1, see List of M1 roads. For roads numbered N1, see list of N1 roads. For roads numbered S ...

, begins at Blönduós' eastern limit. Skagaströnd is situated as the crow flies east-northeast 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 regional capital of the Northwestern Region; however, due to the rough terrain the journey between the two settlements by road is more than .

Name

The name Skagaströnd translates to 'Coast of the Skagi' or, literally, 'Coast of the Peninsula,' from the Icelandic , meaning 'peninsula'—which also serves as the proper name of the peninsula on which the municipality is located—and meaning 'coast, beach, shore.' Skagaströnd originally referred to the entire shoreline extending from the northern tip of the Skagi peninsula to the mouth of the Laxá í Refasveit (also called Laxá-Ytri), a small river that empties into the Húnaflói north of Blönduós. The area historically hosted a number of , traditional fishing outposts and communal mooring places. The northern point of the Skagi is now situated in the northern portion of Skagabyggð and the Laxá í Refasveit forms the boundary between the municipality of Blönduósbær and the southern portion of Skagabyggð. Today, the name Skagaströnd is most often used to refer to the settlement and municipality, however, it is also used by Icelanders to refer to the traditional coastal area.

Twin towns

Skagaströnd is twinned with: *

Lohja Lohja (; ) is a town in Finland, located in the southern interior of the country. Lohja is situated in the western part of the Uusimaa region. The population of Lohja is approximately . It is the most populous Municipalities of Finland, munici ...

, Finland *

Växjö Växjö () is a city and the seat of Växjö Municipality, Kronoberg County, Sweden. It had 71,282 inhabitants (2020) out of a Municipalities of Sweden, municipal population of 97,349 (2024). It is the administrative, cultural, and industrial ce ...

, Sweden

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Skagastrond Municipalities of Iceland Populated places in Northwestern Region (Iceland)