Stykkishólmur

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Stykkishólmur
Town and Municipality
Harbor in Stykkishólmur, with "Súgandisey" in background
Nickname(s): m
Location of the Municipality of Stykkishólmur
Stykkishólmur
Location in Iceland
Coordinates: 65°04′30″N 22°43′30″W / 65.07500°N 22.72500°W / 65.07500; -22.72500
Country  Iceland
Constituency[1] Norðvesturkjördæmi
Region[2] Vesturland
County Snæfellsnes- og Hnappadalssýsla
Municipality Stykkishólmur
Population (2011)
 • Total 1,100
Time zone GMT (UTC+0)
Post Code 340
Website Official website

Stykkishólmur (Icelandic pronunciation: [ˈstɪhcɪsˌhoulmʏr̥]) is a town and municipality situated in the western part of Iceland, to the north of the Snæfellsnes peninsula.

With its 1,100 inhabitants, it is a center of services and commerce for the area. Most of the people make their living from fishing and tourism. A ferry called Baldur goes over the Breiðafjörður fjord to the West Fjords (Vestfirðir). It also is the gateway to Flatey.

Overview

The favourable position of the town was discovered rather early and in 1550 a trading post was founded at the site. Today, the most important employer of the town after the fishing industry is a convent of Franciscan Catholic nuns.

The town was named after a small island in front of the harbour with the name Stykkið (meaning the piece in Icelandic). The nearby mountain of Helgafell is the burial place of Guðrún Ósvífursdóttir, a heroine of the Icelandic sagas.

The town's former library has been restored as a public hall and contains an installation by the American artist Roni Horn.

The sports club of Stykkishólmur is called Snæfell (Umf. Snæfell), named after a glacier which is located on Snæfellsnes, called Snæfellsjökull. Their basketball team is one of the strongest in the country.

Popular culture

Climate graph of 1880–1980 average air temperatures at Stykkishólmur

In the novel Red Storm Rising from 1986, Stykkishólmur was the site of a landing by American Marines tasked to liberate Iceland from occupying Soviet forces.

The internationally famous chess champion Bobby Fischer was planning on moving to Stykkishólmur before his sudden death in early 2008.

Stykkishólmur was featured as one of the destinations in the 2013 movie, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.[3]

Climate

Climate data for Stykkisholmur
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 10.2
(50.4)		 9.8
(49.6)		 10.0
(50)		 12.0
(53.6)		 16.6
(61.9)		 17.9
(64.2)		 21.0
(69.8)		 20.8
(69.4)		 16.2
(61.2)		 13.5
(56.3)		 11.4
(52.5)		 10.7
(51.3)		 21.0
(69.8)
Average high °C (°F) 1.0
(33.8)		 1.6
(34.9)		 1.7
(35.1)		 4.4
(39.9)		 8.0
(46.4)		 11.1
(52)		 12.8
(55)		 12.4
(54.3)		 9.2
(48.6)		 6.0
(42.8)		 3.0
(37.4)		 1.6
(34.9)		 6.1
(43)
Daily mean °C (°F) −1.3
(29.7)		 −0.7
(30.7)		 −0.8
(30.6)		 1.6
(34.9)		 4.9
(40.8)		 8.1
(46.6)		 9.9
(49.8)		 9.6
(49.3)		 6.7
(44.1)		 3.9
(39)		 0.9
(33.6)		 −0.8
(30.6)		 3.5
(38.3)
Average low °C (°F) −3.6
(25.5)		 −2.9
(26.8)		 −2.9
(26.8)		 −0.6
(30.9)		 2.6
(36.7)		 5.9
(42.6)		 7.8
(46)		 7.5
(45.5)		 4.8
(40.6)		 2.0
(35.6)		 −1.1
(30)		 −3.0
(26.6)		 1.4
(34.5)
Record low °C (°F) −16.0
(3.2)		 −17.7
(0.1)		 −19.0
(−2.2)		 −16.0
(3.2)		 −6.7
(19.9)		 −0.8
(30.6)		 2.0
(35.6)		 1.2
(34.2)		 −2.8
(27)		 −8.0
(17.6)		 −10.8
(12.6)		 −14.8
(5.4)		 −19.0
(−2.2)
Precipitation mm (inches) 67.5
(2.657)		 68.9
(2.713)		 71.7
(2.823)		 52.9
(2.083)		 33.7
(1.327)		 40.2
(1.583)		 42.0
(1.654)		 51.7
(2.035)		 56.6
(2.228)		 80.3
(3.161)		 66.8
(2.63)		 71.6
(2.819)		 704.6
(27.74)
Avg. precipitation days (≥ 0.1 mm) 16.8 15.7 17.6 15.6 11.8 12.7 12.5 13.4 14.7 17.2 16.1 17.5 181.8
Source: Icelandic Meteorological Office [4]

Town Festival

Every year the people in Stykkishólmur celebrate the "Danskir dagar" ("Danish days" in Icelandic) festival. This festival is held on the second or third weekend in August every year where the town's historic connections with Denmark are celebrated. This festival has been held every year since 1995.

Friendship towns

See also

References

  1. ↑ Political division
  2. ↑ Mainly statistical division
  3. ↑ "Assisting the Daydreamer". Filminiceland.com. Retrieved 2013-12-27. 
  4. ↑ "30 years average 1961-1990 for selected stations". Icelandic Meteorological Office. Retrieved December 4, 2012. 

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Stykkishólmur.
1Icelandic settlements with city or town status. Not to be confused with the municipalities.

Coordinates: 65°04′30″N 22°43′30″W / 65.07500°N 22.72500°W / 65.07500; -22.72500

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