Ísafjörður

Isafjordur ( [i ː ˌ sa fjœrðʏr̥ ]; , ice fjord ') is a town in the extreme north- west of Iceland in the borough Ísafjarðarbær.

On 1 January 2011 2,636 people lived in Isafjordur, the city is the administrative center of the municipality Ísafjarðarbær with 3,824 inhabitants (as of 1 January 2011).

Geography

Isafjordur is located, surrounded by the rugged sloping mountain slopes of Eyrarfjall ( to 731 m ) and the Kirkjubólsfjall ( to 832 m), on Skutulsfjörður, a tributary of the Ísafjarðardjúp. The city is the economic and administrative center of the West Fjords.

The sandbar ( Isl Eyri ) carrying the place was always filled up to form new territory. Thus, the area of ​​the city has increased continuously, the peninsula today reaches almost from one side of the fjord to the other, effectively a protected harbor was built.

History

As the first settlers in this place called 920 to Helgi Hrólfsson, the fjord Skutulsfjörður gave his name as he at this point a harpoon ( Isl skutull ) found on the beach.

He was followed by Norwegian and Icelandic traders, who settled here from time to time. In the 16th century, founded German and British firms trading their offices. The built during the Danish trade monopoly houses at the southern tip of the peninsula today are the Maritime Museum Neðstakaupstað. Set the oldest surviving settlement core Islands ( Tjöruhúsið of 1734) dar.

Ísafjörðurs general prosperity came only in the 18th century with the clip fish processing.

1787 Isafjordur became a trading post in 1866 was the place the municipal law.

Culture and sights

Isafjordur has a music school and a hospital. The opposite older buildings ( the old hospital ) now houses a cultural center with a library and exhibition spaces. In the Aðalstræti (Eng. "Main Street " ) is the art gallery Slunkariki where works by international and Icelandic artists. Also worth seeing is the idiosyncratic, ocher-colored concrete church and the adjoining cemetery. Located at the eastern mouth of the Skutulsfjörður red-yellow only about five feet high lighthouse Arnarnesviti was built in 1902.

Economy and infrastructure

Industry

Isafjordur was once the largest site of the shrimp fishery of Iceland and is still particularly known for fishing.

The closest

From June to August consist of Isafjordur ship connections to almost completely deserted and hard to reach Peninsula Hornstrandir (nature reserve ) on the other side of the Ísafjarðardjúp.

The transport and supply technical importance of the place is particularly clear from the connection to the innerisländische flight network; the aerodrome of Isafjordur is located on the opposite shore of the fjord.

The distance to the capital Reykjavík is 457 kilometers by road, the nearest place Bolungarvík is approximately 15 km in a north- western direction.

Education

The Regional Library was founded in 1889, followed in 1911 Iceland's first music school. Since 1970 in Isjafjördur two schools and an art school recently established with the name of Iceland's first architects, Rögnvaldur Ólafsson.

In March 2005, a university center, Háskólasetur Vestfjarðar established as the only university in the region. The University Centre offers English-language Master's degree programs, distance learning courses and international summer schools. In addition, in several Isländischkurse for different levels take place.

Sons and daughters of the town

• Jón Halldórsson Laxdal, actor and director, 1933-2005
• Jón Baldvin Hannibalsson, politician, born in 1939
• Ólafur Ragnar Grimsson, President of Iceland, born 1943
• Þorhildur Þorleifsdóttir, director, actress and politician, born in 1945

Twinning

• Finland Joensuu, Finland
• Sweden Linköping, Sweden
• Gronland Nanortalik, Greenland
• Denmark Roskilde, Denmark
• SKALI Denmark, Denmark
• Norway Tønsberg, Norway
• Germany Buy Ring, Germany