| Höfn Höfn í Hornafirði |
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| — Municipality and Town — | |
| Sveitarfélagið Hornafjörður | |
| Location of the Municipality of Hornafjörður | |
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Höfn
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| Coordinates: | |
| Country | Iceland |
| Constituency[1] | Suðurkjördæmi |
| Region[2] | Suðurland |
| County | Vestur-Skaftafellssýsla |
| First settled | 1897 |
| Founder | Ottó and Valgerður Tulinus |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Hjalti Þór Vignisson |
| Area | |
| • Municipality and Town | 6,317 km2 (2,439 sq mi) |
| Population (2011) | |
| • Municipality and Town | 2,119 (municpality) |
| • Density | 0.35/km2 (0.9/sq mi) |
| • Urban | 1,641 (town) |
| Website | Official website |
Höfn or Höfn í Hornafirði (pronounced "Hup") is an Icelandic fishing town in the south-eastern part of the country.
As of 2011, the population of the town was 1,641. This harbour town, the second largest in the south-eastern part of Iceland, gives scenic views of Vatnajökull (the largest ice cap in Europe by volume). The community is also known as Hornafjarðarbær.[3][4][5][6]
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Höfn is located on a peninsula in the south-east of Iceland. The name Höfn means harbour and it is a fishing port surrounded on three sides by the sea, with beaches on the long shoreline on the south-east. Sand bars and glacial rivers traverse this area with many shifting lagoons and sand reefs being formed. Höfn is surrounded by several small islands, the largest of which is Mikley, followed by Krókalátur and Hellir to the east of the town.
Höfn is one of very few harbours in the southern part of Iceland and it needs to be navigated with care due to the changing pattern of shoals. Dredging is an essential requirement to remove sand accumulated near the harbour to let ships moor in the harbour.[7] The entrance channel to Höfn port has a minimum depth of 6–7 metres (20–23 ft). However, the depth at the entrance itself is 7–8 metres (23–26 ft). The harbour at Höfn is reported to freeze during severe winter months.[8]
Eagle Airways operates domestic flights from Höfn's airport[5] and the town is a major centre for visits to the Vatnajökull Glacier.[7] Höfn lies at the end of Road 99, which leaves Iceland's National Road 1 several kilometres north of the town. A tunnel is located near the town, measuring 1,300 metres in length, which is named Almannaskarðsgöng. It was opened in 2005.
Nearby areas include Suðursveit (birthplace of Þórbergur Þórðarson), Öræfasveit, Lón, Mýrar and Nes. In Nes there is a small village called Nesjahverfi. Reykjavík, the capital of Iceland, is about 474 kilometres (295 mi) from Höfn along the south coast.[6]
In this small harbour town, the main economic activities are fishing and tourism. Fishing involves both sea fishing and then processing and packaging in the factories; one major fish processing factory, Skinney-Þinganes is one of the largest fish factories in the eastern part of Iceland, which employs a large number of people. The main production of these factories is bacaloa (saltfish) and processed lobster. Herring and capelin are also processed there. Ten large and a few smaller boats operate from Höfn.[5] During the summer tourist season, trips are offered to the nearby Vatnajökull glacier. The surrounding area has served as a filming location for feature films including the James Bond movies Die Another Day and A View to a Kill, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, and a Batman film.[5]
Höfn has two supermarkets, two cloth shops,a flower shop and a computer shop, four hairdressers, a gym, a golf course, two banks and four schools.[9] Höfn contains a few hotels, most notably the Hótel Höfn, which was built in 1966. Located in the centre of the town, the hotel has 68 rooms, five conference rooms and a dining room that can serve up to 140 guests. The hotel also has a smaller restaurant named Ósinn, which serves pizza, steak and lobster.[5][10] Also of note is the Fosshótel Vatnajökull, located near the Vatnajökull glacier and the Árnanes hotel, a small farm hotel.[3] Notable restaurants include Kaffi Hornið and Víkin Restaurant.[3]
The tourist office has a display of Vatnajökull and the south-eastern corner of Iceland, and also strange-looking glacial mice. The headland of the town is called the Ingólfshöfði, which is 76 metres (249 ft) high and 85 kilometres (53 mi) (in a direct line) from the town. Sea birds such as skuas, guillemots, fulmar and puffins can be seen from the headland.[11]
A cultural highlight of the town is the annual Humarhátíð (lobster festival) held on the first weekend of July, although today the Humarhátíð has been described by some as a "drink'n fun festival". During the summer season, the Glacier Exhibition is held in the old supermarket building.[6]
Höfn contains several museums, including the Höfn Glacier Museum (which has a variety of displays on the geology, ecology and history of the glacier and various examples of explorers' tents, models and climbing ropes), Höfn Folk Museum and Höfn Nautical Museum.[3]
Höfn used to have three schools: Nesjaskóli, located in Nesjahverfi, Hafnarskóli and Heppuskóli. Now, the three schools have been merged into one school called Grunnskóli Hornafjarðar. In the secondary school Framhaldsskólinn í Austur-Skaftafellssýslu 70 to 100 students study in the day school and over 100 students are under distance-study programmes. The school maintains close collaboration with other schools in Iceland, the College in Egilsstaðir and the Vocational School in Neskaupstaður. The school has modern teaching facilities such as wireless internet, a computer centre, availability of laptop computers for students, overhead projectors and in-built sound systems.[5]
The local football club is Sindri, which plays in the Icelandic 4th tier.
Höfn is well connected via Route 1, which circles Iceland. In the past, during the harsh winter months, the road would often become blocked because of regular snow, hampering communications and access. To address this, a new tunnel, named Almannaskarðsgöng, was constructed between March 2004 and October 2004.[12] The tunnel measures exactly 1,312 metres in length (although the sign rounds it off to 1,300) and was opened on June 24, 2005. The tunnel passes through the narrow and steep pass between Hornafjörður and Lón district, running through some 1,150 metres of solid rock and some 162 metres of concrete portals, bringing the total length to 1,312 metres. The road is two lanes wide, although there are three passing places in the tunnel for emergency traffic. The southern tunnel entrance is located at 39 metres above sea level, whilst the northern tunnel entrance is located at 82 metres to the north, making the incline of the tunnel 4.6%. Hornafjörður Airport is located nearby to the town.
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