Hörgárdalur () is a valley in north Iceland, the valley of the river Hörgá. It is long and extends southwest from
Eyjafjörður
Eyjafjörður (, ''Island Fjord'') is one of the longest fjords in Iceland. It is located in the central north of the country. Situated by the fjord is the country's fourth most populous municipality, Akureyri.
Physical geography
The fjord is ...
, which it meets inland. It is now part of the municipality of
Hörgársveit
Hörgársveit () is a municipality located in north-central Iceland, in Northeastern Region. Its seat is the village of Lónsbakki .
History
The former municipality of Hörgárbyggð was formed on 1 January 2001 by the union of the municipa ...
.
The valley is wide and fertile at its mouth until its intersection with Öxnadalur; the area on the east side of the river here is known as Þelamörk (Thelamörk). The rest of the valley is narrow and has little flat land, running between high mountains. On the west side they reach , and in the Drangafjall ridge dividing the valley from Öxnadalur, the pointed peak of
Hraundrangi
Hraundrangi (, Lava Column or Rockfall Spire at Dick Ringler, Texts and Commentaries,
Akureyri
Akureyri (, locally ) is a town in northern Iceland. It is Iceland's fifth-largest municipality, after Reykjavík, Hafnarfjörður, Reykjanesbær and Kópavogur, and the largest town outside Iceland's more populated southwest corner.
Nicknamed ...
, the
Ring Road
A ring road (also known as circular road, beltline, beltway, circumferential (high)way, loop, bypass or orbital) is a road or a series of connected roads encircling a town, city, or country. The most common purpose of a ring road is to assist i ...
follows the valley for and then continues through Öxnadalur.
Flögusel
Flögusel was the first farm in the valley; south of that point, the valley turns more to the west. A road up from there west across the heath was previously a common route to
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 ...
The farm of Grjótá was the birthplace in 1161 of Bishop
Guðmundur Arason
Guðmundur Arason (1161 – March 16, 1237; Modern Icelandic: ; Old Norse: ) was an influential 12th and 13th century Icelandic saintly bishop who took part in increasing the powers of the Catholic Church in medieval Iceland. His story is ...
.
Möðruvellir in Hörgárdalur
The historical main settlement in the valley is Möðruvellir , at its northeastern end, which was the site of an
Augustinian Augustinian may refer to:
*Augustinians, members of religious orders following the Rule of St Augustine
*Augustinianism, the teachings of Augustine of Hippo and his intellectual heirs
*Someone who follows Augustine of Hippo
* Canons Regular of Sain ...
monastery, founded in 1296,"Möðruvellir" Christian Nowak, Hans Klüche and Odin Hug, ''Baedeker Reiseführer Island'', 5th ed. Ostfildern: Baedeker, 2005, and of one of Iceland's first academic secondary schools, founded in 1880; the school moved to Akureyri after a fire in 1902 and is now
Akureyri Junior College
The Akureyri Junior College ( is, Menntaskólinn á Akureyri , regionally also ; la, Schola Akureyrensis) is an Icelandic gymnasium (academic secondary school). It is one of the oldest educational institutions in Iceland.
The Menntaskólinn ...
. There is a church built in 1865–67 and an agricultural research station. Möðruvellir was the birthplace of
Jón Sveinsson
Jón Stefán Sveinsson, better known as "Nonni" (16 November 1857 in Möðruvellir in Hörgárdalur – 16 October 1944 in Cologne) was an Icelandic children's writer and member of the Society of Jesus.
He left Iceland in 1870 for France, whe ...
and of
Hannes Hafstein
Hannes Þórður Pétursson Hafstein (4 December 1861 – 13 December 1922) was an Icelandic politician and poet. In 1904 he became the first Icelander to be appointed to the Danish Cabinet as the minister for Iceland in the Cabinet of Deuntzer a ...
, and also of Valtýr Stefánsson (1893–1963), the editor of ''
Morgunblaðið
''Morgunblaðið'' (, ''The Morning Paper'') is an Icelandic newspaper. ''Morgunblaðið''s website, mbl.is, is the most popular website in Iceland.
History
''Morgunblaðið'' was founded by Vilhjálmur Finsen and Ólafur Björnsson, brother of ...
''.Several farms and settlements in Iceland have been called Möðruvellir; in particular, Möðruvellir in Hörgárdal should be distinguished from the nearby Möðruvellir in
Eyjafjarðarsveit
Eyjafjarðarsveit () is a municipality located in northern Iceland.
Most of Eyjafjarðarsveit is located inland, but the northern tip borders a fjord. The major villages are Hrafnagil
Hrafnagil (; also known as Hrafnagilshverfi and formerly Rey ...
, after which the manuscript
Möðruvallabók
__NOTOC__
Möðruvallabók () or AM 132 fol is an Icelandic manuscript from the mid-14th century, inscribed on vellum. It contains the following Icelandic sagas in this order:
*''Njáls saga''
*''Egils saga''
*''Finnboga saga ramma''
*''Bandamanna ...
was named.
Skuggi
Skuggi is the site of a
Viking Age
The Viking Age () was the period during the Middle Ages when Norsemen known as Vikings undertook large-scale raiding, colonizing, conquest, and trading throughout Europe and reached North America. It followed the Migration Period and the Ger ...
tenant farm that has been investigated by archaeologists in association with the Icelandic Archaeological Institute (Fornleifastofnun Íslands) for information on economic relationships in that era, in particular with Möðruvellir and the trading settlement of
Gásir
Gásir () or Gásakaupstaður was a medieval trading post situated north of Akureyri on the coast of Eyjafjörður, in Northern Iceland. Gásir is recognized as an Icelandic heritage site, and the Akureyri Museum hosts events at its location, ...
RÚV
Ríkisútvarpið (RÚV) (pronounced or ) ( en, 'The Icelandic National Broadcasting Service') is Iceland's national public-service broadcasting organization.
Operating from studios in the country's capital, Reykjavík, as well as regional cent ...
Hörgársveit
Hörgársveit () is a municipality located in north-central Iceland, in Northeastern Region. Its seat is the village of Lónsbakki .
History
The former municipality of Hörgárbyggð was formed on 1 January 2001 by the union of the municipa ...
Morgunblaðið
''Morgunblaðið'' (, ''The Morning Paper'') is an Icelandic newspaper. ''Morgunblaðið''s website, mbl.is, is the most popular website in Iceland.
History
''Morgunblaðið'' was founded by Vilhjálmur Finsen and Ólafur Björnsson, brother of ...