Egilsstaðir

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Egilsstaðir in eastern Iceland

Egilsstaðir is a town in East Iceland on the banks of Lagarfljót river. In 2004, the town had over 2,100 inhabitants.

The town is young, even by Icelandic standards where urbanization is a fairly recent trend compared to mainland Europe. It was established in 1947 as an effort by the surrounding rural districts who felt the need for a service center in the region. They intentionally chose a spot in the land of the Egilsstaðir farm (which the town was named after) near the bridge over Lagarfljót because that is a spot where all the main roads of the region meet, Route 1 as well as the main routes to the Eastfjords.

Today, Egilsstaðir has grown to become the largest town of East Iceland and its main service, transportation and administration center. The town has an airport, college and a hospital. More growth is predicted for the town in coming years following the expected economic boom in the region because of the Kárahnjúkar Hydropower Project and Alcoa's aluminum smelting plant in Reyðarfjörður.