Húsavík () is a town in
Norðurþing municipality on the north coast of
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 ...
on the shores of
Skjálfandi bay with 2,307 inhabitants. The most famous landmark of the town is the wooden church
Húsavíkurkirkja, built in 1907. Húsavík is served by
Húsavík Airport.
Overview
Income is derived from tourism and fishing, as well as retail and small industry. Until recently, Húsavík was the export harbour for
silica
Silicon dioxide, also known as silica, is an oxide of silicon with the chemical formula , most commonly found in nature as quartz and in various living organisms. In many parts of the world, silica is the major constituent of sand. Silica is ...
that was extracted from nearby lake
Mývatn
() is a shallow lake situated in an area of active volcanism in the north of Iceland, not far from Krafla volcano. It has a high amount of biological activity. The lake and the surrounding wetlands provides a habitat for a number of waterbirds, e ...
.
According to the ''
Landnámabók'' ("Book of Settlement"), Húsavík was the first place in Iceland to be settled by a Norseman. The
Swedish
Swedish or ' may refer to:
Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically:
* Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland
** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
Viking
Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden),
who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...
Garðar Svavarsson stayed there for one winter around 870 A.D. When he left the island in spring of 870, after a winter's stay, he left behind a man named
Náttfari Náttfari (Old Norse: ; Modern Icelandic: ; c.835) was a crew member who escaped his master, Garðar Svavarsson, and may have become the first permanent resident of Iceland in the 9th century. The earliest account of his story is found in the 11th ...
and two slaves, a man and a woman, and they established a farm here.
The name of the town means "bay of houses", probably referring to Garðar's homestead, which may have been the only houses then in Iceland.
Tourism
Húsavík has become a centre of
whale watching
Whale watching is the practice of observing whales and dolphins (cetaceans) in their natural habitat. Whale watching is mostly a recreational activity (cf. birdwatching), but it can also serve scientific and/or educational purposes.Hoyt, E. 2 ...
in Iceland due to whales of different species that frequently enter the bay.
The
Húsavík Whale Museum is located in the town centre by the harbour.
In town there is also a civic museum about culture and biology.
Among other things, it shows a stuffed
polar bear (arrived in
Grímsey
Grímsey () is a small Icelandic island, off the north coast of the main island of Iceland, straddling the Arctic Circle. In January 2018 Grímsey had 61 inhabitants.
Before 2009, Grimsey constituted the ''hreppur'' (municipality) of Grí ...
in 1969) and ancient boats.
Each year in mid July, Húsavík holds a festival called ''Mærudagar'' , which translates to “Candy Days”. Thousands of people from all over Iceland come to the tiny town to enjoy this occasion which consists of music, colourful decorations, and an array of food and drink.
Húsavík is also home to
The Exploration Museum, a museum about the history of human exploration. A
monument honouring the Apollo astronauts that trained around Húsavík during the 1960s is located outside the museum.
The Eurovision Museum, dedicated to the
Eurovision Song Contest, had its soft opening in October 2021. An official grand opening will happen sometime in 2022.
The region of Mývatn, with its interesting geology and diverse animal life, is nearby.
Jökulsárgljúfur National Park with the horseshoe-shaped canyon
Ásbyrgi
Ásbyrgi () is a glacial canyon and forest in the north of Iceland, located approximately east of Húsavík on the Diamond Circle road. The horseshoe-shaped depression is part of the Vatnajökull National Park and measures approximately 3.5 ...
and the waterfalls
Dettifoss,
Hafragilsfoss and
Selfoss is also not far from the town.
Sports
ÍF Völsungur is the local football club. They last played in Iceland's top tier in the 1988 season.
Popular culture
Húsavík served as the setting of the 2020
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fi ...
film ''
Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga'', a comedic story of two Húsavík natives representing Iceland in the
Eurovision Song Contest, with
one of the film's songs named after the town. The song itself was nominated for the
Academy Award for Best Original Song at the
93rd Academy Awards
The 93rd Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored films released from January 1, 2020, to February 28, 2021, at Union Station in Los Angeles. The ceremony was held on April 25, 202 ...
.
The song's taped
Best Original Song
This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards.
Best Actor/Best Actress
*See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...
performance was filmed on location in Húsavík. In a break with Oscar tradition, all five songs had their performances pre-taped due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
instead of being performed live. "Húsavík" was the only one of the five nominated songs to have its pre-taped performance take place outside of the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
.
On 25 April 2021, the performance aired along with pre-taped performances of the other four nominated songs in that year's category. All five song performances were shown during the red carpet pre-show special that took place just before the
main ceremony began.
Residents of the town reported a significant jump in tourism following the film's release. In 2021,
The Eurovision Museum opened in Húsavík telling the story of the song contest and the film.
International relations
Twin towns – Sister cities
*
Karlskoga
Karlskoga () is a locality and the seat of Karlskoga Municipality, Sweden. Located within Örebro County, 45 km (28 mi) west of Örebro, and 10 km (6 mi) north of Degerfors. With a 2020 population of 27,386 distributed over 10.55 square miles (2 ...
, Sweden
*
Fredrikstad
Fredrikstad (; previously ''Frederiksstad''; literally "Fredrik's Town") is a List of cities in Norway, city and Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Viken (county), Viken Counties of Norway, county, Norway. The administrative centre of the ...
, Norway
*
Riihimäki
Riihimäki (literally "Drying barn hill") is a town and municipality in the south of Finland, about north of Helsinki and southeast of Tampere. An important railway junction is located in Riihimäki, since railway tracks from Riihimäki lead to ...
, Finland
*
Aalborg, Denmark
*
Qeqertarsuaq
Qeqertarsuaq () is a port and town in Qeqertalik municipality, located on the south coast of Disko Island on the west coast of Greenland. Founded in 1773, the town is now home to a campus of the University of Copenhagen known as Arctic Station. ...
, Greenland
*
Fuglafjørður, Faroe Islands
*
Eastport, Maine, USA
Climate
Húsavík has a mild winter
subarctic climate (
Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer
* Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan
* Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...
: ''Dfc'') or a subpolar
oceanic climate (''Cfc'') depending on the isotherm used, or , similar to the rest of coastal Iceland.
Daylight hours
Húsavík experiences
midnight sun
The midnight sun is a natural phenomenon that occurs in the summer months in places north of the Arctic Circle or south of the Antarctic Circle, when the Sun remains visible at the local midnight. When the midnight sun is seen in the Arctic, ...
from 11 June until 29 June.
Although Húsavík doesn't experience polar night in
December solstice, the shortest daylight hours in Húsavík are 2 hours 45 minutes, from 11:45
UTC until 14:30
UTC on 21 December.
Gallery
File:Husavik Harbor 2006.jpg, Húsavík harbour (1)
File:Husavik1.jpg, Church of Húsavík, Húsavíkurkirkja
File:Husavik whales.JPG, Whales in Skjalfandi near Húsavík
See also
*
History of Iceland
The recorded history of Iceland began with the settlement by Viking explorers and the people they enslaved from the east, particularly Norway and the British Isles, in the late ninth century. Iceland was still uninhabited long after the rest ...
*
Húsavík Chamber of Commerce and Tourism
*
List of cities and towns in Iceland
Most municipalities in Iceland include more than one settlement. For example, four localities ( Selfoss, Stokkseyri, Eyrarbakki, and Tjarnabyggð) can all be found in the municipality of Árborg.
A number of municipalities only contain a single ...
*
Volcanism of Iceland :''The volcano system in Iceland that started activity on August 17, 2014, and ended on February 27, 2015, is Bárðarbunga.''
:''The volcano in Iceland that erupted in May 2011 is Grímsvötn.''
Iceland experiences frequent volcanic activity, ...
References
External links
Official tourist information website Official website Whalewatching and information about whalesHúsavík whale watching
{{DEFAULTSORT:Husavik
Populated places in Northeastern Region (Iceland)