Akrahreppur (, regionally also ), previously called Blönduhlíðarhreppur, is a former municipality, or

hreppur A hreppur () is a type of rural municipality in Iceland. These administrative units primarily consist of small rural villages, often with few or no towns, and are overseen by a . The ''hreppur'' is one of Iceland’s oldest administrative units, ...

, situated in the Northwestern Region of

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 ...

, and located 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 ...

, north of the Kyrfisá, and leading south to

Hofsjökull __NOTOC__ Hofsjökull (Icelandic language, Icelandic: "temple glacier", ) is the third largest ice cap in Iceland after Vatnajökull and Langjökull and covers the largest active central volcano in the country, which has the same name. It is si ...

. It is divided into a range of villages, including

Ábær Ábær () (from "farm of rivers") is an abandoned farm and church site in Austurdalur, on the eastern bank of the Austari-Jökulsá in Skagafjörður, Iceland. There is a small, concrete church that still stands in , although it was not cons ...

. In February 2022, residents of Akrahreppur and the neighboring municipality of

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 ...

voted to combine the two municipalities. In June 2022 the merger was formalized under the name of Skagafjörður. Agriculture is the main industry in Akrahreppur and the area is sparsely populated. There are four churches in Akrahreppur in

Flugumýri Flugumýri is a town and church site in the Blönduhlíð district of Skagafjörður, Iceland, at the base of Glóðafeykir mountain. It was, and is, a manorial estate. The town was the homestead of Þórir dúfunef (the dove-nosed) and, acco ...

, Miklibær,

Silfrastaðir Silfrastaðir is a farm and church site at the mouth of the Norðurárdalur valley in Skagafjörður, Iceland. The farm's property is vast, spanning from the Bóluá river in Blönduhlíð out to the Kotá river in Norðurárdalur. Most of the l ...

, and

Austurdalur Austurdalur ("east valley") is a valley in interior Skagafjörður, Iceland. The Austari-Jökulsá, one of the two sources of one of the Héraðsvötn, Héraðsvötn's forks, runs through it. The only residence in the valley is at Bústaðir, an ...

, but the Ábær parish is now completely abandoned. A small amount of

geothermal energy Geothermal energy is thermal energy extracted from the crust (geology), crust. It combines energy from the formation of the planet and from radioactive decay. Geothermal energy has been exploited as a source of heat and/or electric power for m ...

is used in some places in Akrahreppur, and a swimming pool was built in Víðivellir in 1938, but it is no longer in use. Now a heating utility system has been built from

Varmahlíð Varmahlíð () is a small village in Skagafjörður, northern 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 E ...

, and it services almost all of Blönduhlíð.

Geography

The municipality spans all

Blönduhlíð Blönduhlíð is a district in Iceland in eastern Skagafjörður that lies along the Héraðsvötn river. It spans the area from the Bóluá river in the south of and the Kyrfisá river to the north. Brekknapláss is the outermost part of in , ...

and Norðurádalur, Kjálki, and

, except for the town of Bústaðir, which belongs to Skagafjörður County. Some abandoned farms in

Vallhólmur Vallhólmur, also called Hólmurinn, is a flatland area in the middle of Skagafjörður, Iceland, formed from sediment from the Héraðsvötn river—it is in fact an old seabed. The area's eastern boundary is the Héraðsvötn and Húseyjarkví ...

also belong to Akrahreppur although they are now west of the Héraðsvötn because the boundary moved. Extensive pastureland, in Silfrastaðir and Nýibær, belong to the municipality.

History

Akrahreppur is the setting of many major events in the

Age of the Sturlungs The Age of the Sturlungs or the Sturlung Era ( ) was a 42-/44-year period of violent internal strife in mid-13th-century Iceland. It is documented in the '' Sturlunga saga''. This period is marked by the conflicts of local chieftains, '' goðar'' ...

, including the

Battle of Örlygsstaðir The Battle of Örlygsstaðir was a historic battle fought by members of the Sturlungar family against the Ásbirningar and the Haukdælir clans in northern Iceland. The battle was part of the civil war that was taking place in Iceland at the t ...

, the

Battle of Haugsnes The Battle of Haugsnes () was fought at Haugsnes, a low peninsula south of Flugumýri in Skagafjörður, Northern Iceland. The battle took place on April 19, 1246 between the forces of Þórður kakali Sighvatsson and those of Brandur Kolbeinsso ...

, and the

Flugumýri Arson The Flugumýrarbrenna () was a quickfire that took place 22 October 1253 in Iceland during the Age of the Sturlungs. The powerful Icelandic ''goði'' (chieftain) Gissur Þorvaldsson had returned from Norway with the Norwegian King's favour, and ha ...

. The poet Hjálmar Jónsson lived in various towns in Akrahreppur during the 19th century and is named after one of them, Bóla in Blönduhlíð. From 1949 to 2006, the hreppur's elementary school was the Héðinsminni community center in Stóra-Akrar, but in the wake of a dispute between parents and teachers, it was shut down, and since then the students have been driven to a school in Varmahlíð.

Hreppur Council

Five representatives sat on the Akrahreppur council who were voted in through proportional representation every four years. The last Akrahreppur council was elected in the hreppur committee election on May 26, 2018.

Council Chairs

Source:Byggðasaga Skagafjarðar IV. bindi Akrahreppur, edited by Hjalti Pálsson, page 50 *1875–1878 Gísli Þorláksson in Hjaltastaðir *1878–1881 Þorkell Pálsson in Frostastaðir *1881–1883 Páll Pálsson in Syðri-Brekkum *1883–1886 Rögnvaldur Björnsson in Réttarholt *1886–1889 Þorvaldur Arason in

*1889–1901 Sigtryggur Jónatansson in Syðri-Brekkur and Framnes *1901–1937 Gísli Björnsson in Stóru-Akrar and Vaglar *1937–1958 Jóhannes Steingrímsson in

*1958–1986 Jóhann Lárus Jóhannesson in Silfrastaðir *1986–2002 Broddi Björnsson in Framnes *2002–2018 Agnar Halldór Gunnarsson in Miklibær *2018–2022 Hrefna Jóhannesdóttir

Localities

* Miklibær *

References

Former municipalities of Iceland Northwestern Region (Iceland) States and territories disestablished in 2022 {{Iceland-geo-stub Skagafjörður