Viðey (; sometimes

anglicised Anglicisation or anglicization is a form of cultural assimilation whereby something non-English becomes assimilated into or influenced by the culture of England. It can be sociocultural, in which a non-English place adopts the English language ...

as Videy) is the largest island of the Kollafjörður Bay in

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 ...

, just outside the capital of

Reykjavík Reykjavík is the Capital city, capital and largest city in Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland on the southern shore of Faxaflói, the Faxaflói Bay. With a latitude of 64°08′ N, the city is List of northernmost items, the worl ...

Overview

The island covers ; its highest point is

above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of a location's vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) in reference to a vertical datum based on a historic mean sea level. In geodesy, it is formalized as orthometric height. The zero level ...

. The island is divided by a narrow piece of land (isthmus) creating the West Island, East Island and the largest Home Island. The island has a rich bird life with about 30 species breeding here, such as Puffins, Guillemots, and Fulmars along its coast. The well-vegetated island has areas of

bog A bog or bogland is a wetland that accumulates peat as a deposit of dead plant materials often mosses, typically sphagnum moss. It is one of the four main types of wetlands. Other names for bogs include mire, mosses, quagmire, and musk ...

, grey

basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...

on the West Island and eastern shore and at least 156 species of plant. Visitors can reach the island by ferry. In the summer ferries leave daily from Skarfabakki, Harpa, and Aegisgarour pier. In the winter, ferry service is from Skarfabakki on weekends only. The Reykjavík City Card includes free ferry transfer to and from the island.

Geology

About two million years ago during the

Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( ; referred to colloquially as the ''ice age, Ice Age'') is the geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fin ...

, Viðey was an active

volcano A volcano is commonly defined as a vent or fissure in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most oft ...

with a massive

caldera A caldera ( ) is a large cauldron-like hollow that forms shortly after the emptying of a magma chamber in a volcanic eruption. An eruption that ejects large volumes of magma over a short period of time can cause significant detriment to the str ...

. The remains of this caldera are much larger than the modern island itself, with the island near the caldera's center. The rest of the caldera underlies a large part of what is now Kollafjörður.

History

The island has archaeological remains dating back to the early 10th century and was the site where the "father of Reykjavík" Skuli Magnusson constructed his home and a church in the 12th century. From 1225 to 1539 an Augustine Monastery was established on the island. There is a deserted village on the island, as the island's last inhabitants left in 1943. On the Western Island is the Viðeyjarstofa House. Viðeyjarstofa House was constructed in 1753–1755 by the Danish government. The Danish architect

Nicolai Eigtved Nicolai Eigtved (4 June 1701 – 7 June 1754), also known as Niels Eigtved, was a Denmark, Danish architect. He introduced and was the leading proponent of the French rococo or late baroque style in Danish architecture during the 1730s–1740s. ...

designed the House. The House now houses a restaurant. Two hike trails start from behind the restaurant and in the summer there is horse rental and a riding school. In 1988 American artist

Richard Serra Richard Serra (November 2, 1938 – March 26, 2024) was an American artist known for his large-scale Abstract art, abstract sculptures made for Site-specific art, site-specific landscape, urban, and Architecture, architectural settings, a ...

was invited by the National Gallery of Iceland to build a work. Serra chose Viðey Island as the site for ''Afangar (Stations, Stops on the Road, To Stop and Look: Forward and Back, To Take It All In)'' (1990). The sculpture consists of nine pairs of

columns (a material indigenous to

) and placed along the periphery of Vesturey, the northwest part of the island. All nine locations share the same elevations in that the stones of each pair are situated at an elevation of 9 and 10 meters, respectively. Each set of stones is level at the top. All stones at the higher elevation measure 3 meters; all stones at the lower elevation measure 4 meters. Because of the variance of

topography Topography is the study of the forms and features of land surfaces. The topography of an area may refer to the landforms and features themselves, or a description or depiction in maps. Topography is a field of geoscience and planetary sci ...

, the stones in a set are sometimes closer together, sometimes further apart. The rise and fall of Viðey Island and the surrounding landscape is seen against the fixed measure of the standing stones.The stones are visible along the horizon of the island and orient the viewer against the rise and fall of the surrounding landscape. The Imagine Peace Tower is located on the island. It is a "Tower of Light" envisioned and built by artist

Yoko Ono Yoko Ono (, usually spelled in katakana as ; born February 18, 1933) is a Japanese multimedia artist, singer, songwriter, and peace activist. Her work also encompasses performance art and filmmaking. Ono grew up in Tokyo and moved to New York ...

as a memorial to

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer-songwriter, musician and activist. He gained global fame as the founder, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles. Lennon's ...

. According to the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

: "The tower is a beam of light, radiating from a wishing well bearing the words "imagine peace" in 24 languages. The plan is for it to be lit each year between his birthday, October 9, and his death December 8."

Charles Lindbergh Charles Augustus Lindbergh (February 4, 1902 – August 26, 1974) was an American aviator, military officer, and author. On May 20–21, 1927, he made the first nonstop flight from New York (state), New York to Paris, a distance of . His aircra ...

visited the island when he was planning his flight across the Atlantic. In Philip Roth's novel '' The Plot Against America'', Lindbergh visits Reykjavík again in 1941, then as President of the United States, and signs a peace treaty with Adolf Hitler. The name is thought to reflect that it was forested upon the arrival of the first settlers (Wood Island) rather than, which is also possible, that it simply had driftwood.

References

External links

Yoko Ono to unveil peace tower in Iceland in memory of John Lennon

Reykjavík Capital Area

Viðey Ferry Service
{{DEFAULTSORT:Videy Calderas of Iceland Extinct volcanoes of Europe Islands of Iceland Pleistocene volcanoes