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Siglufjörður - Town - North West Iceland

Region: North West

About: (Description)
Siglufjörður, (pop. 1,340) a fishing town on a fjord of same name, surrounded by steep mountains with little flat land. In 1919 an avalanche fell on Engidalur opposite the town, killing 7 people. Siglufjörður was an important herring centre from 1904 to recent times, when the herring disappeared.

Good harbour, school, bank, hospital. A herring museum. During summer, the atmosphere of the „Herring Era“ is recreated on the museum dock and the locals in vintage costumes salt herring and sing and dance to accordion music.

The Folk Music Centre is located in Madame House where the Rev. Bjarni Thorsteinsson lived from 1888 to 1898. The centre brings to life the world of Icelandic folk music. The visitor can see people of all ages chanting rímur, singing the tvísöngur, reciting nursery rhymes, and playing folk instruments such as the langspil and the Icelandic fidla. The centre also depicts the life of the Rev. Bjarni Thorsteinsson and how he collected the folk songs.

Excellent skiing ground. Beautiful walking routes. A popular destination for bird-watchers. Two walls have been constructed in the high ground above the town in order to ward off avalanches; they go by the name of Stóri-boli (Big bull), 18 m high, and Litli-boli (Little bull), 14 m high. Together these two walls, completed in 1999, are nearly 1 km in length. Memorial to sailors lost at sea.

How to get there:
From Blönduós follow road no. 1 to exit to road no. 76 to Siglufjörður. From Blönduós til Siglufjörður it is about 170 km

source Iceland Road Atlas

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