Viðvíkursveit is a district in

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 ...

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 ...

east of the

Héraðsvötn Héraðsvötn (), whose name is often shortened to Vötn or Vötnin (and was called Jökulsá in previous centuries) is a glacier river in Iceland. It is formed by the confluence of Austari-Jökulsá and Vestari-Jökulsá. The Héraðsvötn is ...

, on the border of

Akrahreppur Akrahreppur (, regionally also ), previously called Blönduhlíðarhreppur, is a former municipality, or hreppur, situated in the Northwestern Region of Iceland, and located east of the Héraðsvötn, north of the Kyrfisá, and leading south to H ...

along the Kyrfisá river to Kolka and on the east side towards the mouth of

Hjaltadalur Hjaltadalur is a valley on the east side of Skagafjörður, Iceland that was previously a part of Hólahreppur. The majority of the valley is surrounded by 1,000–2,000-meter-tall mountains, and it intersects with various remote valleys. Hjalt ...

valley. It comprises the same area as

Viðvíkurhreppur Viðvíkurhreppur a hreppur, an old Icelandic municipality, in between the Héraðsvötn and Hjaltadalsá in Skagafjörður County, Iceland. It is named after the church site Viðvík. On June 6, 1998, Viðvíkurhreppur joined ten other local ...

did before the creation of Skagafjörður County. The part of the region south of Gljúfurá river is called Hofstaðapláss and is often not considered to be a part of Viðvíkursveit. Viðvíkurfjall waterfall overlooks the eastern portion of the area, and to the west is the Héraðsvötn, followed by Lónssandur beach on the outside of Austurós estuary.

History of settlement

The region was settled by the explorer Öndóttur who lived in

Viðvík Viðvík is a farm in Viðvíkursveit on the eastern side of Skagafjörður, Iceland right at the opening of Hjaltadalur valley, and south of Hjaltadalsá river. It was home the area's manor in past centuries. Description There has been a ...

, in the easternmost part of the district. The area downriver of Kolka and out to Kolkuós estuary is called Brimnes and used to be home to the Brimnes woods. The woods, mentioned in the ''

Landnámabók (, "Book of Settlements"), often shortened to , is a medieval Icelandic written work which describes in considerable detail the settlement () of Iceland by the Norse in the 9th and 10th centuries CE. is divided into five parts and ov ...

'', are now a hilly area too windy to support tree growth. Recently, enthusiasts have formed a group to revive Brimnes woods using only seeds from what little remains of the forest that was in Skagafjörður and has grown there since the Age of Settlement, especially in Geirmundarhólur forest in Hrolleifsdalur valley. Two small islands face the district, Lundey and Elínarhólmi.

References

{{Authority control Populated places in Northwestern Region (Iceland) Skagafjörður