Seyðisfjörður

The picturesque town and fjord on the easternmost region of Iceland share the same name, Seyðisfjörður, which is located barely 27 km from Egisstaðir and about 661 km from Reykjavik. It has been primarily a fishing town ever since settlers arrived during the early Settlement Period, led by Bjólfur, who claimed the entire fjord.

The picturesque town and fjord on the easternmost region of Iceland share the same name, Seyðisfjörður, which is located barely 27 km from Egisstaðir and about 661 km from Reykjavik. It has been primarily a fishing town ever since settlers arrived during the early Settlement Period, led by Bjólfur, who claimed the entire fjord.

By 1848 Norwegian fishermen made the town their home and built beautiful wooden structures which can still be seen. In 1913, a dam harnessed power for the country’s first high-voltage power plant, the first-of-its-kind in Iceland, which provided electricity to homes and streetlights in Seyðisfjörður. Though the fish-processing unit could not survive, despite being a good fishing port with ship construction facilities, it has turned to tourism to boost its economy. The town has all modern facilities, hotels, restaurants, cinemas, museums, camping ground, library, hospital and is also culturally vibrant with its Dieter Roth Academy and the hosting of the annual LungA Art Festival every July. Seyðisfjörður, which has an attractive church, boasts of about 25 waterfalls, with Gufufoss literally located on the road that passes through Mount Fjarðarheiði.

Seyðisfjörður harbor is now also the entry port for tourists who opt to visit Iceland sailing across the Atlantic Ocean from Denmark and the Faroe islands in the ferry Norræna (Smyril line). The region is difficult to traverse during the winter and sometimes cut-off from the mainland when avalanches cause havoc to this serene town.