Seyðisfjörður and a Viking Festival

We awoke to a beautiful sunny morning. We had a walking tour of the town of Seyðisfjörður. The town is surrounded by tall mountains at the end of a fjord. The mountains behind the town have many waterfalls. The total population of the town is 660. The elementary school has 52 students and the kindergarten 21.

The area where we docked was originally part of the fjord but when buildable land became scarce they used landfill techniques to make more land. Just past the cruise ship was a piece of land being prepared for a house to be moved there. In 2020 there was a massive landslide and 12 homes lost and many not able to be lived in because of further possible landslides. One of those houses which is able to be lived in will be moved onto this area.

There were massive avalanche barriers built on the mountainside to further protect the town. When the avalanche barriers were being built a huge archaeological site was discovered. It had an almost complete Viking longhouse and many other structures. They excavated for about 5 years and now all the items are being studied in the University.

The town is filled with colorful houses. The early houses were ordered from Denmark and shipped here in boxes. They then were assembled on the land. They are small and made of decorative iron. Later houses were built of wood and now they use traditional modern building techniques. The houses are also decorated with art works.

They consider themselves an international city with many languages being spoken here. During WW II, over 1,200 American soldiers were stationed here. They lived in Quonset huts and weekly would invite the town people to see movies. After the war, the Quonset buildings were sold the the Icelandic people. The only requirement was they had to move the building. Many farms have a Quonset building as part of their buildings.

Seyðisfjörður had the first rainbow street in Iceland. Every year after winter is over the whole town comes out to repaint it and then they have a party. For such a small place, they have a grocery store, a movie theater, government offices, a bank and many restaurants and gift shops with local items.

After our walk through town we went to their cultural center for drinks, we had rhubarb lemonade, a tasting of local delicacies and entertainment, 2 singers. We also could view a drone footage movie of the surrounding countryside. Quite an experience for such a small place.

An unusual fact, they are a cold town. This means that there is no thermal activity in the area. Since every town must have a swimming pool, and they need to heat it with electricity, the walls and foundation are 2 meters thick. The government also subsidizes the cost of the electricity.