Surviving Iceland

Eyrarbakki is one of the oldest trading towns in Iceland but the towns’ prime time was from middle of the 18th century to the early 19th century. During that time the town expanded around the houses of the Danish trading and the population grew fast. At its peak, the inhabitants were around 1000 at 1920, but have reduced from then and have been around 530-550 for the last years. The Eyrarbakki Hostel has 4 apartments, each accommodating 4 persons. The apartments are nicely furnished with a dishwasher, refrigerator and all main kitchen supplies, two single beds in the bed room and a double couch in the living room, television and wireless internet. The Gónhóll café in the adjacent house is open from Friday to Monday from 13 – 17 and upon agreement for bigger groups. It also houses a culture centre, a handicraft market and a vegetable market. There are two museums in Eyrarbakki; the Maritime Museum’s most noteworthy piece is the rowboat Farsæll. The museum also holds many pieces related to the sea and fish-processing in Eyrarbakki area. The District museum in Húsið has exhibitions on the history of Húsið building and the people that used to work and live there, but also about the history of trading in Eyrarbakki as well as various items related to the history of Árnessýsla. 3 km out of town is Flói Nature Reserve, a paradise for wetland birds, with a marked circular hiking trail through the marshes.