Blönduós () is a town and former municipality in the north 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 ...
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
Route 1 at the mouth of the glacial river
Blanda.
Hrútey , a small island and natural reserve encircled by the river, is accessible via a pedestrian bridge just off the ring road. In 2022, the town merged with
Húnavatnshreppur to form
Húnabyggð.
Geography
One of Blönduós' main characteristics is that the town is split into two parts by the glacial river
Blanda, for which it is named (Blöndu is an oblique
case of Blanda). The old part of town (
Icelandic: "gamli bærinn"), including many original houses from the late 19th and early 20th century, is located on the south side of the river. Many of the local companies, the elementary school, supermarket, community center and sports facilities including a modern outdoor heated pool are located on the north side. On a hill above town is a church with striking architecture that is intended to resemble a volcanic crater.
Economy
Most of the industry and livelihood in Blönduós evolve around service for agriculture and tourism. In recent years, the town has become known for its connection with textiles. A wool washery, Iceland's only textile museum and th
Icelandic Textile Center featuring a residency program for international textile artists and scholars, are all located in Blönduós.
Notable people
*
María Ólafsdóttir
María Ólafsdóttir (born 2 February 1993), known outside Iceland as María Ólafs, is an Icelandic singer, musician, and actress. She Iceland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015, represented Iceland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 with th ...
(born 1993), singer, musician and actress
Twin towns – sister cities
Blönduós is
twinned with:
*
Horsens
Horsens () is a city on the east coast of Jutland region of Denmark. It is the seat of the Horsens municipality. The city's population is 61,074 (1 January 2022) and the municipality's population is 94,443 (), making it the 8th largest city in De ...
, Denmark
*
Karlstad, Sweden
*
Moss, Norway
*
Nokia
Nokia Corporation (natively Nokia Oyj, referred to as Nokia) is a Finnish multinational telecommunications, information technology, and consumer electronics corporation, established in 1865. Nokia's main headquarters are in Espoo, Finland, i ...
, Finland
Climate
Blönduós has a
tundra climate
The tundra climate is a polar climate sub-type located in high latitudes and high mountains. undra climate https://www.britannica.com/science/tundra-climateThe Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2019 It is classified as ET according to Köppen ...
(ET).
References
External links
Statistics IcelandMore information and photos about Blönduós town on Hit IcelandOfficial website"Textile Museum Homepage""Textile Center Homepage"
Former municipalities of Iceland
Populated places in Northwestern Region (Iceland)
States and territories disestablished in 2022
{{Iceland-geo-stub