Skagafjörður () is a

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

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

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, Förden and East Jutland Fjorde, Germany, ...

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 Peninsula to the west. There are t ...

for details on the region) in northern

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 s ...

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 Varmahlíð () is a small village in Skagafjörður, northern Iceland. Around 140 people live on the eastern slope of the hill for which the town is named (''varmur''=warm, ''hlíð''=slope). Varmahlíð is on the ring road Route 1, at the junc ...

and several rural districts. It also includes the historic

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominatio ...

site of

Hólar Hólar (; also Hólar í Hjaltadal ) is a small community in the Skagafjörður district of northern Iceland. Location Hólar is in the Hjaltadalur valley, some from the national capital of Reykjavík. It has a population of around 100. It is th ...

which is the site of a growing

university A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...

today.

Localities

* Ábær * Hofsós *

Keta Keta is a coastal town in the Volta Region of Ghana. It is the capital of the Keta Municipal District. Keta was an important trading post between the 14th and the late 20th centuries. The town attracted the interest of the Danish, because they ...

* Miklibær * Reynistaður *

* Silfrastaðir *

* Viðvík

Twin towns – sister cities

Skagafjörður is twinned with: *

Espoo Espoo (, ; sv, Esbo) is a city and municipality in the region of Uusimaa in the Republic of Finland. It is located on the northern shore of the Gulf of Finland, bordering the cities of Helsinki, Vantaa, Kirkkonummi, Vihti and Nurmijärvi ...

, Finland *

Køge Køge (, older spelling ''Kjøge'') is a 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, Denmark. In 2022, the urban area had a ...

, Denmark *

Kongsberg Kongsberg () is a historical mining town and municipality in Buskerud, Viken 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 ...

, Norway *

Kristianstad Kristianstad (, ; older spelling from Danish ''Christianstad'') is a city and the seat of Kristianstad Municipality, Scania County, Sweden with 40,145 inhabitants in 2016. During the last 15 years, it has gone from a garrison town to a devel ...

, Sweden

References

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