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Reykjavík

capital and largest city in Iceland

5.9km

64.14019-21.90794

Southwest Iceland

Southwest Iceland is the region of Iceland where the majority of the country's population lives, in and around the capital.

32km

63.92349-22.23495

Blue Lagoon

lake in Iceland

55km

63.87973-22.44374

Þingvellir National Park

(pronounced "THING-vet-lihr") - National Park and a UNESCO World Heritage site. 30 to 50 kilometres (19 to 31 mi) east of Reykjavík. Interesting for a number of reasons: it is the original site of the longest running parliament in the world (the name literally means 'parliamentary fields'), and it's where the North-American and European continental shelf plates are being torn apart.

92km

64.2581-21.125

Upcountry Árnessýsla

Upcountry Árnessýsla, or Uppsveitir Árnessýslu in Icelandic, is a rural area in South Iceland, home to many of the country's most famous attractions.

177km

64.198-20.359

Snæfellsjökull National Park

(SNY-fetls-yer-CUDDLE) - Located on the tip of the Snæfellsnes Peninsula in western Iceland, this park is home to the ice-covered volcanic crater that was the setting for Jules Verne's book Journey to the Center of the Earth.

206km

64.8-23.7833
Sights (3)

Christ the King Cathedral (Reykjavík)

The Catholic cathedral of Iceland.

3.9km

64.1475-21.9485

Hveragerði

82km

63.9992211-21.2065315

Silfra

water-filled rift in Iceland between the North American an Eurasion tectonic plates

92km

64.255-21.123
Nature

we will see

Hafnarfjörður

Iceland
Someday we will visit Hafnarfjörður or begin to dream about going there! However, for now its not on our radar. Let us know in the comments if you think that should change!

Hafnarfjörður

Hafnarfjörður is a town in Southwest Iceland with a population of 25,000. It has a long history as a town but has today become a suburb of Reykjavík and the westernmost town in the contiguous urban area of the capital.

In the 1986 novel Red Storm Rising by Tom Clancy, the Soviet Union gains a dramatic strategic advantage at the beginning of the war by seizing Iceland with a Guards Airborne division transported secretly by converted freighters. When the US Marine Corps retake Iceland, they initially land at Hafnarfjörður before advancing on Keflavik. Additionally, in the novella, The Odd Saga of the American and a Curious Icelandic Flock, Snorri calls Alex in the middle of the night to tell him that he is passing through Hafnarfjörður and will be picking him up shortly for a trip to Snæfellsnes.

Hafnarfjörður takes its name (meaning harbour fjord) from the area's excellent natural harbour. The town is first named in the medieval Landnámabók, and the earliest reports of voyages to Hafnarfjörður date from the end of the 14th century. Englishmen began trading in Hafnarfjörður in the 15th century, but German merchants followed in their wake and eventually drove the English out. The first Lutheran church in Iceland was raised at Háigrandi, opposite Óseyri, just outside the small boat harbour in 1533. After that, the Hanseatic traders prevailed in town until 1602, based at Hvaleyri. At this point, the Danish monarchy established a Danish trade monopoly in Iceland which lasted until late in the 18th century. During this period, Hafnarfjörður was the nation's busiest trade centre.

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Climate

Average temperatures

Jan

3°C-2.1
Precipitation: 13.9 mm

Feb

3.1°C-2
Precipitation: 9.1 mm

Mar

3.8°C-1.5
Precipitation: 9.2 mm

Apr

6.3°C0.8
Precipitation: 4.4 mm

May

9.5°C3.8
Precipitation: 4.1 mm

Jun

11.8°C6.6
Precipitation: 27.4 mm

Jul

13.4°C8.4
Precipitation: 5.5 mm

Aug

13.3°C8
Precipitation: 6.2 mm

Sep

10.7°C5.4
Precipitation: 20 mm

Oct

7.2°C2.4
Precipitation: 7.7 mm

Nov

4.6°C-0.3
Precipitation: 4.4 mm

Dec

3.3°C-1.8
Precipitation: 10.9 mm
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