Húsavík | |
|---|---|
Town | |
 Aerial panorama of the town and the harbour | |
 Location of the Municipality of Norðurþing | |
  Húsavík Location in Iceland | |
| Coordinates:66°03′N17°19′W / 66.050°N 17.317°W /66.050; -17.317 | |
| Country | Iceland |
| Constituency | Northeast Constituency |
| Region | Northeastern Region |
| Municipality | Norðurþing |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Katrín Sigurjónsdóttir |
| Population (2018) | |
• Total | 2,307 |
| Time zone | UTC+0 (GMT) |
| Post Code | 640 |
| Website | Official website |
Húsavík (Icelandic pronunciation:[ˈhuːsaˌviːk]) is a town inNorðurþing municipality on the northeast coast ofIceland on the shores ofSkjálfandi bay with 2,485[1] inhabitants. The most famous landmark of the town is the wooden churchHúsavíkurkirkja, built in 1907. Húsavík is served byHúsavík Airport.
Here income is derived from tourism and fishing, as well as from retail and small industries. Until 2004, Húsavík was the export harbour forsilica that was extracted from nearby lakeMývatn.
According to theLandnámabók ("Book of Settlement"), Húsavík was the first place in Iceland to be settled in by a Norseman. TheSwedishVikingGarðar Svavarsson stayed there for one winter around 870 A.D. When he left the island in spring of 870, after a winter's stay, he left behind a man namedNáttfari and two slaves, a man and a woman, and they established a farm there.[2] The name of the town means "bay of houses", probably referring to Garðar's homestead, which was probably the only houses then in Iceland.
Húsavík has become a centre ofwhale watching in Iceland due to whales of different species that frequently enter the bay.TheHúsavík Whale Museum is located in the town centre by the harbour.[3]
In the town there is also a civic museum of culture and biology.Among other things, it shows a stuffedpolar bear (arrived inGrímsey in 1969) and ancient boats.
Each year in mid July, Húsavík holds a festival calledMærudagar[ˈmaiːrʏˌtaːɣar̥], which translates to “Candy Days”. Thousands of people from all over Iceland come to the tiny town to enjoy this occasion which consists of music, colourful decorations, and an array of food and drink.
Húsavík is also home toThe Exploration Museum, a museum of the history of human exploration. Amonument honouring the Apollo astronauts who got trained up around Húsavík during the 1960s is located outside the museum.[4]
The Eurovision Museum, dedicated to theEurovision Song Contest, had its soft opening in October 2021, with the official grand opening in 2022.[5]
The region of Mývatn, with its interesting geology and diverse animal life, is nearby.Jökulsárgljúfur National Park with the horseshoe-shaped canyonÁsbyrgi and the waterfallsDettifoss,Hafragilsfoss andSelfoss are also not far from the town.
Húsavík Airport is located close to the town. Until 2024, there were regular flights toReykjavík Airport. TheVaðlaheiðargöng tunnel opened in 2019 which shortened the travel time toAkureyri to within an hour. Flights from Húsavík Airport have therefore ceased.[6]
ÍF Völsungur is the local football club. They last played in Iceland's top tier in the 1988 season. The town also offers many opportunities for recreational sports. A 9 hole golf course, hiking and walking paths, two gym facilities and an outdoor public swimming pool.[7]
Húsavík served as the setting of the 2020Netflix filmEurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga, a comedic story of two Húsavík natives representing Iceland in theEurovision Song Contest, withone of the film's songs named after the town. The song itself was nominated for theAcademy Award for Best Original Song at the93rd Academy Awards.
The song's tapedBest Original Song performance was filmed on location in Húsavík. In a break with Oscar tradition, all five songs had their performances pre-taped due to theCOVID-19 pandemic instead of being performed live. "Húsavík" was the only one of the five nominated songs to have its pre-taped performance taking place outside of theUnited States.
On 25 April 2021, the performance was aired along with pre-taped performances of the other four nominated songs in that year's category. All five song performances were shown during the red carpet pre-show special that took place just before themain ceremony began.[8]
Residents of the town reported a significant jump in tourism following the film's release.[9] In 2021,The Eurovision Museum opened in Húsavík telling the story of the song contest and the film.
Húsavík has either awarm-summer humid continental climate (Köppen:Dfb) or an oceanic climate (Köppen:Cfb) depending on the isotherm used, −3 °C (27 °F) or 0 °C (32 °F), similar to much of coastal Iceland.
| Climate data for Húsavík (2000–2019) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 13.1 (55.6) | 17.2 (63.0) | 19.0 (66.2) | 20.0 (68.0) | 23.5 (74.3) | 26.7 (80.1) | 28.3 (82.9) | 27.6 (81.7) | 22.4 (72.3) | 19.0 (66.2) | 19.0 (66.2) | 15.8 (60.4) | 28.3 (82.9) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 1.3 (34.3) | 1.6 (34.9) | 1.4 (34.5) | 5.9 (42.6) | 10.7 (51.3) | 13.8 (56.8) | 14.3 (57.7) | 13.6 (56.5) | 10.8 (51.4) | 6.3 (43.3) | 2.6 (36.7) | 1.4 (34.5) | 7.0 (44.5) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −1.1 (30.0) | −0.3 (31.5) | 1.0 (33.8) | 2.9 (37.2) | 6.9 (44.4) | 11.3 (52.3) | 13.1 (55.6) | 12.4 (54.3) | 10.2 (50.4) | 5.4 (41.7) | 2.0 (35.6) | 0.7 (33.3) | 5.4 (41.7) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −4.2 (24.4) | −3.7 (25.3) | −4.0 (24.8) | −1.6 (29.1) | 1.9 (35.4) | 5.4 (41.7) | 7.2 (45.0) | 6.9 (44.4) | 3.8 (38.8) | 1.0 (33.8) | −2.3 (27.9) | −4.0 (24.8) | 0.5 (32.9) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −18.0 (−0.4) | −16.5 (2.3) | −21.2 (−6.2) | −17.4 (0.7) | −9.8 (14.4) | −3.5 (25.7) | 0.5 (32.9) | 0.3 (32.5) | −5.8 (21.6) | −10.2 (13.6) | −15.0 (5.0) | −17.5 (0.5) | −21.2 (−6.2) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 78.6 (3.09) | 60.2 (2.37) | 62.7 (2.47) | 50.4 (1.98) | 37.2 (1.46) | 42.0 (1.65) | 43.3 (1.70) | 58.2 (2.29) | 90.1 (3.55) | 101.4 (3.99) | 87.3 (3.44) | 77.1 (3.04) | 788.5 (31.03) |
| Source:Icelandic Met Office[12] | |||||||||||||
Húsavík experiencesmidnight sun from 11 June until 29 June.[13]
Although Húsavík doesn't experience polar night inDecember solstice, the shortest daylight hours in Húsavík are 2 hours 45 minutes, from 11:45UTC until 14:30UTC on 21 December.[13]
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