Eskifjörður

 

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E skifjörður is a Fjord in the county of Suður-Múlasýsla, an appendix to the northwest of Reydarfjörður. It is sided by steep slopes and ends in a short, rather narrow valley. On the northern shore of Eskifjörður lies the township of the same name. Eskifjörður was officially acknowledged as a markettown in 1786. The town grew rapidly in the years after 1870 as the Norwegians started catching herring on a large scale off the east coast of Iceland. A freezing plant was built in 1895 and the first motor boats came in 1905. A home economics school was founded in 1875, the second of its kind in Iceland and Iceland's first free church was built here in 1884. The first public electricity utility in Iceland became operational here in 1911. Eskifjörður is the seat of the Suður-Múlasýsla county administration. The economy in the town is dominated by the seafood industry. The local freezing plant is remarkable for its large wall painting by the Catalonian painter Balthazar.
The mountain Hólmatindur rises 985 meters high above the town, thoe pride of the inhabitants who claim to receive positive currents from it. The mountain has its 'dark side', though, because from September through April the town lies in its shadow. In the year 1998 the townships of Eskifjörður, Norðfjörður und Reyðarfjörður were united in one administrative unit: Fjarðabyggð.

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Panorama of Eskifjörður
Population of Eskifjörður 1025 (01.03 ´99)
Economy Fish processing (54%)
and services (21%)
Population of Fjarðabyggð 3300 (01.03.´99)
Places of interest
  • The Helgustaðir mine is only 10 minutes by car from Eskifjörður. This was one of the most famous sources of double-refracting calcite, which indeed derives its name 'Iceland spar' from here.
  • The Seafaring Museum of East Iceland is located in Eskifjörður, in the socalled "Gömlu búð" (Old house), a house built in 1816. Many interesting exhibits serve to illustrate the close ties between Icelanders and the sea.