Húsavík

Húsavík is a town in Norðurþing municipality on the north coast of Iceland on the shores of Skjálfandi bay with 2,307[1] inhabitants. The most famous landmark of the town is the wooden church Húsavíkurkirkja, built in 1907. Húsavík is served by Húsavík Airport.

This article is about the town in Iceland. For other uses, see Husavik (disambiguation).

Húsavík
Town
Aerial panorama of the town and the harbour
Location of the Municipality of Norðurþing
Húsavík
Location in Iceland
Coordinates: 66°03′N 17°19′W
CountryIceland
ConstituencyNortheast Constituency
RegionNortheastern Region
MunicipalityNorðurþing
Government
 • MayorKristján Þór Magnússon
Population
 (2018)
 • Total2,307
Time zoneUTC+0 (GMT)
Post Code
640, 645
WebsiteOfficial website

Overview

Income is derived from tourism and fishing, as well as retail and small industry. Until recently, Húsavík was the export harbour for silica that was extracted from nearby lake Mývatn.

According to the Landnámabók ("Book of Settlement"), Húsavík was the first place in Iceland to be settled by a Norse man. The Swedish Viking Garðar Svavarsson stayed there for one winter around 870 A.D. When he left the island in spring of 870, after a winter's stay, he left behind a man named Nattfari and two slaves, a man and a woman, and they established a farm here.[2] The name of the town means "bay of houses", probably referring to Garðar's homestead, which may have been the only houses then in Iceland.

Tourism

Húsavík has become a centre of whale watching in Iceland due to whales of different species that frequently enter the bay. The Húsavík Whale Museum is located in the town centre by the harbour. [3]

In town there is also a civic museum about culture and biology. Among other things, it shows a stuffed polar bear (arrived in Grimsey in 1969) and ancient boats.

Each year in mid July, Húsavík holds a festival called Mærudagar, which translates to “Candy Days”. Thousands of people from all over Iceland come to the tiny town to enjoy this occasion which consists of music, colourful decorations, and an array of food and drink.

Húsavík is also home to The Exploration Museum, a museum about the history of human exploration. A monument honouring the Apollo astronauts that trained around Húsavík during the 1960s is located outside the museum.[4]

The region of Mývatn, with its interesting geology and diverse animal life, is nearby. Jökulsárgljúfur National Park with the horseshoe-shaped canyon Ásbyrgi and the waterfalls Dettifoss, Hafragilsfoss and Selfoss is also not far from the town.

Sports

ÍF Völsungur is the local football club. They last played in Iceland's top tier in the 1988 season.[5]

Húsavík served as the setting of the 2020 Netflix film Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga, a comedic story of two Húsavík natives representing Iceland in the Eurovision Song Contest. One of the songs in this movie was even named for the town.

International relations
See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Iceland

Twin towns – Sister cities

Climate

Húsavík has a mild winter subarctic climate (Köppen: Dfc) or a subpolar oceanic climate (Cfc) depending on the isotherm used, −3 °C (27 °F) or 0 °C (32 °F), similar to the rest of coastal Iceland.

Climate data for Húsavík (2000-2019)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 13.1
(55.6)		 17.2
(63.0)		 19.0
(66.2)		 20.0
(68.0)		 23.5
(74.3)		 26.4
(79.5)		 27.8
(82.0)		 24.6
(76.3)		 22.4
(72.3)		 19.0
(66.2)		 15.5
(59.9)		 13.8
(56.8)		 27.8
(82.0)
Average high °C (°F) 1.3
(34.3)		 1.6
(34.9)		 1.4
(34.5)		 5.2
(41.4)		 9.3
(48.7)		 13.0
(55.4)		 14.3
(57.7)		 12.7
(54.9)		 9.3
(48.7)		 5.8
(42.4)		 2.6
(36.7)		 1.4
(34.5)		 6.5
(43.7)
Daily mean °C (°F) −1.1
(30.0)		 −1.0
(30.2)		 1.0
(33.8)		 1.9
(35.4)		 6.9
(44.4)		 10.2
(50.4)		 13.8
(56.8)		 11.9
(53.4)		 8.5
(47.3)		 3.9
(39.0)		 1.7
(35.1)		 0.5
(32.9)		 4.9
(40.7)
Average low °C (°F) −4.2
(24.4)		 −3.7
(25.3)		 −4.0
(24.8)		 −1.6
(29.1)		 1.9
(35.4)		 5.4
(41.7)		 7.2
(45.0)		 6.9
(44.4)		 3.8
(38.8)		 1.0
(33.8)		 −2.3
(27.9)		 −4.0
(24.8)		 0.5
(32.9)
Record low °C (°F) −18.0
(−0.4)		 −16.5
(2.3)		 −21.2
(−6.2)		 −17.4
(0.7)		 −9.8
(14.4)		 −3.5
(25.7)		 0.5
(32.9)		 0.3
(32.5)		 −5.8
(21.6)		 −10.2
(13.6)		 −15.0
(5.0)		 −17.5
(0.5)		 −21.2
(−6.2)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 78.6
(3.09)		 60.2
(2.37)		 62.7
(2.47)		 50.4
(1.98)		 37.2
(1.46)		 42.0
(1.65)		 65.3
(2.57)		 69.0
(2.72)		 90.1
(3.55)		 101.4
(3.99)		 87.3
(3.44)		 77.1
(3.04)		 821.3
(32.33)
Source: Icelandic Met Office[8]

Daylight hours

Húsavík experiences midnight sun from 11 June until 29 June.[9]

Although Húsavík doesn't experience polar night in December solstice, the shortest daylight hours in Húsavík are 2 hours 45 minutes, from 11:45 UTC until 14:30 UTC on 21 December.[9]

  • Húsavík harbour (1)
  • Church of Húsavík, Húsavíkurkirkja
  • Whales in Skjalfandi near Húsavík

See also

References
  1. "Mannfjöldatölur". Hagstofa Íslands. Statistics Iceland. Retrieved 23 February 2019.
  2. Guðni Th. Jóhannesson (9 January 2013). The History of Iceland. ABC-CLIO. pp. 6–7, 19–20. ISBN 978-0-313-37621-4.
  3. "Whale museum homepage". Archived from the original on 6 July 2010.
  4. Hnefill, Örlygur (12 August 2015). "Apollo astronauts revisit training area in Iceland and explore a new lava flow". The Exploration Museum.
  5. Iceland 1988 – RSSSF
  6. "Aalborg Twin Towns". Europeprize.net. Archived from the original on 7 September 2013. Retrieved 19 August 2013.
  7. "Nordurthing homepage" (in Icelandic). nordurthing.is.
  8. "Climatological Data for Húsavík". Icelandic Meteorological Office. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
  9. "Húsavík, Iceland daylight calculator (number of daylight hours, with sunrise and sunset, and daylight saving time)". jan.moesen.nu.
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