Vestmannaeyjar

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Not to be confused with Vestmanna.
Vestmannaeyjar
—  Town and municipality  —
Heimaklettur seen from Stakkagerðistún which is public park in the middle of Heimaey
Location of the Municipality of Vestmannaeyjar
Vestmannaeyjar is located in Iceland
Vestmannaeyjar
Location of Vestmannaeyjar town in Iceland
Coordinates: 63°25′00″N 20°17′00″W / 63.41667°N 20.28333°W / 63.41667; -20.28333
Country Iceland
Constituency[1] Suðurkjördæmi
Region[2] Suðurland
County Vestmannaeyjar[3]
Government
 • Mayor Elliði Vignisson (2006–)
Area
 • Total 16.3 km2 (6.3 sq mi)
Population (2011)
 • Total 4,200
 • Density 254.1/km2 (658/sq mi)
Time zone GMT (UTC+0)
Post Code IS-900, 902
Twin cities
 • Frederikshavn Denmark
Website Official website

Vestmannaeyjar (Westman Islands) is a town and archipelago off the south coast of Iceland.[4]

The largest island, Heimaey, has a population of 4,135. The other islands are uninhabited, though six have single hunting cabins. Vestmannaeyjar came to international attention in 1973 with the eruption of Eldfell volcano, which destroyed many buildings, and forced a months-long evacuation of the entire population to mainland Iceland.

Contents

Geography [edit]

Vestmannaeyjar comprises the following islands:

Total: 16.3 km²

Climate [edit]

Climate data for Vestmannaeyjar
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Average high °C (°F) 3.4
(38.1)		 3.9
(39)		 3.8
(38.8)		 5.5
(41.9)		 8.0
(46.4)		 10.0
(50)		 11.7
(53.1)		 11.6
(52.9)		 9.2
(48.6)		 6.8
(44.2)		 4.4
(39.9)		 3.6
(38.5)		 6.82
(44.28)
Daily mean °C (°F) 1.3
(34.3)		 2.0
(35.6)		 1.7
(35.1)		 3.4
(38.1)		 5.8
(42.4)		 8.0
(46.4)		 9.6
(49.3)		 9.6
(49.3)		 7.4
(45.3)		 5.0
(41)		 2.4
(36.3)		 1.4
(34.5)		 4.8
(40.63)
Average low °C (°F) −0.6
(30.9)		 0.1
(32.2)		 −0.2
(31.6)		 1.6
(34.9)		 4.2
(39.6)		 6.6
(43.9)		 8.1
(46.6)		 8.2
(46.8)		 5.9
(42.6)		 3.5
(38.3)		 0.5
(32.9)		 −0.6
(30.9)		 3.11
(37.6)
Precipitation mm (inches) 158.2
(6.228)		 139.1
(5.476)		 141.4
(5.567)		 116.5
(4.587)		 105.4
(4.15)		 102.2
(4.024)		 94.9
(3.736)		 140.3
(5.524)		 131.2
(5.165)		 161.5
(6.358)		 154.1
(6.067)		 143.5
(5.65)		 1,588.3
(62.532)
Avg. precipitation days (≥ 1.0mm) 18.2 16.7 17.0 15.5 13.5 14.1 13.2 14.4 15.7 18.5 15.5 17.7 190
Source: Hong Kong Observatory[5]

History and name [edit]

Cover of the book by Ólafur Egilsson who was captured by Barbary corsairs in 1627
Map of the archipelago
South aerial view of Súlnasker Geldungur, Hellisey, Álsey, Brandur, Suðurey, Heimaey, Bjarnarey, Elliðaey, with the Icelandic mainland in the background
Heimaklettur seen from the top of Eldfell Volcano which erupted 23 January 1973
Vestmannaeyjar as seen from route 1, mainland Iceland
Development of the coastline of Heimaey during the eruption of Eldfell in 1973

The islands are named after Irish slaves who had been captured into slavery by Norsemen. The Old Norse word Vestmenn, literally "Westmen", was applied to the Irish, and retained in Icelandic even though Ireland is more easterly than Iceland. (The Norse Gaels often called themselves in contrast Ostmen or Austmenn - East-men)

Not long after Ingólfur Arnarson arrived in Iceland, his blood brother Hjörleifur was murdered by the slaves he had brought with him. Ingolfur tracked them down to Vestmannaeyjar and killed them all in retribution.

On July 16, 1627, in an event known as the Turkish abductions, the islands were captured by a fleet of 3 ships of Barbary Pirates from Algiers, who stayed there until July 19 under the control of Ottomans. They had earlier raided in Austfirðir and another raid under the command of Murat Reis from Salé in Morocco had taken place in Grindavík in June of that year. The pirates enslaved 234 people from the islands and took them to Algiers (after a voyage which lasted 27 days) where most of them spent the rest of their lives in bondage.[6] One of the captives, Lutheran minister Ólafur Egilsson, managed to return back in 1628 and wrote a book about his experience.[7] In 1636, ransom was paid for 34 of the captives and most of them returned to Iceland.

The area is very volcanically active, like the rest of Iceland. There were two major eruptions in the 20th century: the eruption in 1963 that created the new island of Surtsey, and the Eldfell eruption of January 1973, which created a 200-meter-high mountain where a meadow had been, and caused the island's 5000 inhabitants to be temporarily evacuated to the mainland.

From 1998 to 2003 the island of Heimaey was home to Keiko the killer whale, star of Free Willy.

The islands are famed in Iceland for their major annual festival, Þjóðhátíð (National Festival), which attracts thousand of people. The festival was originally held in 1874, concurrent with Iceland's celebration commemorating the 1000th anniversary of the inhabitation of Iceland. Vestmannaeyjar residents had been prevented by weather from sailing to the mainland for the festivities and thus celebrated locally.[8]

Popular culture [edit]

The islands feature as the primary location in Yrsa Sigurðardóttir's novel Ashes to Dust, which uses the 1973 eruption of Eldfell as a key element in the plot.

See also [edit]

Notes and references [edit]

  1. ^ Political division
  2. ^ Mainly statistical division
  3. ^ Independent town
  4. ^ http://www.icelandtouristboard.com/index.php?page=westman-islands
  5. ^ "Climatological Information for Akureyri, Iceland". Hong Kong Observatory. 
  6. ^ „Hvað gerðist í Tyrkjaráninu?“. Vísindavefurinn, retrieved on Feb 26, 2012. (In Icelandic.)
  7. ^ The Travels of Reverend Ólafur Egilsson.
  8. ^ www.VisitWestmanislands.com – Activities – Events – The Festival

External links [edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Vestmannaeyjar
Coat of arms of Iceland.svg
1Icelandic settlements with city or town status. Not to be confused with the municipalities.

Coordinates: 63°25′N 20°17′W / 63.417°N 20.283°W / 63.417; -20.283

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