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.

When someday comes you'll need to get in.

When someday comes you'll need to be able to get around.