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Hofn
The municipality of Hornafjordur is one of the largest in Iceland, from Skeidara in the West to Lón in the East.The area is dominated by Europe’s biggest glacier, Vatnajökull.
It is inhibited by approximately 2.500 people.The basic industry is fishing and fish processing. Due to glacial sand filling up inlets on the south coast, the first other good harbour to the west is at the islands Vestmannaeyjar.
Höfn actually means harbour, though even here repeated dredging has proved necessary to keep the entrance safe from sand deposits.
Ships come and go, the catch enters the fish processing plants and can be tried out in local restaurants.
Besides general fish, the port is renowned for lobsters and prawns.
Höfn has sometimes been in the forefront for computer development in Iceland. Minutes of meetings in the community government were some of the first to be published on the Internet.
The glacial rivers have created wide watery plains by depositing sand ground from the gray basalt mountains by the underside of the glacier. Organized revegetation is taking place to prevent sandstorms and improve the soil.
Water standing on the plains shelters white whooper swans (Cygnus cygnus) and numerous other birds at many sites, for instance at the lake Þveit by the road on the east side of the valley, or at Skógey or Árnanes near the airport.
If you are interested in modern architecture, visit the church at Bjarnanes, a simple but unusual white concrete structure.
Folk museum is in Gamla búð which is the oldest house in Höfn. The house was originally built as a shop í Papós in Lón in 1864 bun n 1897 it was moved to its present site. The museum has all kinds of tools and items from centuries past that cast a light on the conditions of local life long ago.
Pakkhúsið is a maritimal-museum down at the harbour at Höfn.
Many birds accompany the walker, such as the arctic tern (Sterna paradisaea). Ósland estuary is promising for birdwatching, but they appear at many places around the village, with its blend of glacial runoff, basalt sand, vegetation and sea. Migratory birds of spring in Iceland frequently appear first at Höfn.
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