| Grindavík | |
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| — Municipality — | |
| Grindavík | |
| Location of the Municipality of Grindavík | |
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Grindavík
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| Coordinates: | |
| Country | Iceland |
| Constituency | Southwest |
| Area | |
| • Total | 164.1 sq mi (425 km2) |
| Population (2011) | |
| • Total | 2,821 |
| • Density | 16.8/sq mi (6.49/km2) |
| Time zone | GMT (UTC+0) |
| Post Code | 240 |
| Website | Official website |
Grindavík is a fishing town at the peninsula of Reykjanes at the south-western coast of Iceland.
It is one of the few cities with a harbour at this coast. Most of the 2,800 inhabitants work in the fishing industry. The Blue Lagoon, Grindavík's premiere attraction, is located 3 miles (4.8 km) from the town centre.
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Landnáma or The Book of Settlements mentions that around 934 two Viking settlers, Molda-Gnúpur Hrólfsson and Þórir haustmyrkur Vígbjóðsson, arrived in the Reykjanes area. Þórir settled in Selvog, and Krísuvík and Molda-Gnúpur in Grindavík.[1]
The sons of Moldar-Gnúpur established three settlements; Þórkötlustaðahverfi, Járngerðarstaðarhverfi and Staðarhverfi. The modern version of Grindavik is situated mainly in what was Járngerðarstaðarhverfi.
The origins of the municipality can be traced to Einar Einarsson’s decision to move there to build and run a shop in 1897. During that time the town population was only around 360. Fishing had for centuries been a crucial element in the survival of Grindavik’s population. But fishing trips were often extremely dangerous. Men were frequently lost at sea and the catch not always stable. However when a safer access point to land was created at Hópið in 1939, fishing conditions changed dramatically. From 1950 serious development in the fishing industry begun to take place. Grindavik was declared a municipality in 1974.
A short distance to the north, there is the Blue Lagoon (Icelandic: Bláa Lónið), a geothermal spa using hot and mineralized waters from the nearby Svartsengi power station.
UMFG is the town's sport club.
The Leif the Lucky Bridge spans the Álfagjá rift valley that marks the boundary of the Eurasian and North American continental tectonic plates. It was built in 2002 and named in honor of Icelandic explorer Leif Eriksson, who travelled from Europe to explore North America 500 years before Columbus.
The Icelandic Saltfish Museum in Grindavík opened in September 2002. It displays the story of salt fish production and its importance for the Icelandic economy throughout the centuries in a specially designed building of 650m2.
The Icelandic writer Guðbergur Bergsson was born here, and Kalli Bjarni, the first winner of the Icelandic version of Pop Idol, lives in the town. Dnash, the American composer and instrumentalist whose wife, Ögn Þórarinsdóttir, was raised in Grindavík also calls this picturesque town home when not on tour.
Near Grindavik, there is a radio station of the United States Navy. It uses several antennas, including two guyed masts. The mast situated at 63°51'1"N 22°28'0"W was built in 1993 and is 304.8 metres tall, the other mast at 63°51'3"N 22°27'6"W was built in 1983 and is 182.9 metres tall. The taller mast replaced a 243.8 metres tall mast, the other a mast of same height.
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