Húsavík: Difference between revisions

Húsavík
Húsavík
Town
	View from the harbor
	Location of the Municipality of Norðurþing
Country	Iceland
Constituency	Norðausturkjördæmi
Region	Norðurland eystra
County	Norður-Þingeyjarsýsla
Municipality	Norðurþing
Government
• Sveitarstjóri	Bergur Elías Ágústsson
Population (2011)
• Total	2,237
Time zone	UTC+0 (GMT)
Post Code	640, 645
Website	Official website

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Revision as of 17:26, 20 November 2012

Húsavík is a town in Norðurþing municipality on the north coast of Iceland on the shores of Skjálfandi bay with 2,237 inhabitants. The most famous landmark of the town is the wooden church Húsavíkurkirkja, built in 1907. Húsavík is served by Húsavík Airport.

Overview

Income is derived from tourism and fishing, as well as retail and small industry. Until recently, Húsavík was the export harbour for silica that was extracted from nearby lake Mývatn.

According to the Landnámabók ("Book of Settlement"), Húsavík was the first place in Iceland to be settled by a Norse man. The Swedish Viking Garðar Svavarsson stayed there for one winter around 870 A.D. The name of the town means "bay of houses" which probably refers to Garðar's homestead. Which have been the only houses then in Iceland.

Climate

Climate data for Husavik
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)	1 (34)	2 (35)	3 (37)	5 (41)	10 (50)	12 (54)	14 (58)	14 (57)	11 (52)	5 (41)	3 (38)	3 (37)	7 (45)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)	−4 (25)	−3 (26)	−3 (26)	−1 (30)	2 (36)	6 (42)	7 (45)	7 (44)	4 (40)	0 (32)	−1 (30)	−2 (29)	1 (34)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	36 (1.4)	23 (0.9)	33 (1.3)	23 (0.9)	18 (0.7)	43 (1.7)	53 (2.1)	66 (2.6)	61 (2.4)	100 (4.1)	56 (2.2)	51 (2)	563 (22.3)
Source: Weatherbase ^[1]

Tourism

Húsavík has become a centre of whale watching in Iceland due to whales of different species that frequently enter the bay. The Húsavík Whale Museum is located in the downtown by the harbour. ^[2]

In town there is also a civic museum about culture and biology. Among other things, it shows a stuffed polar bear (arrived in Grimsey in 1969) and ancient boats.

Húsavík has also been home to the Icelandic Phallological Museum,^[3] subsequently moved to Reykjavík .^[4]

The region of Mývatn, with its interesting geology and diverse animal life, is nearby. Jökulsárgljúfur National Park with the horseshoe shaped canyon Ásbyrgi and the waterfalls Dettifoss, Hafragilsfoss and Selfoss is also not far from the town.

Sports

ÍF Völsungur is the local football club, they last played in Iceland's top tier in the 1988 season.^[5]

International relations

Twin towns — Sister cities

Karlskoga, Sweden
Fredrikstad, Norway
Riihimäki, Finland
Aalborg, Denmark
Qeqertarsuaq, Greenland
Fuglafjørður, Faroe Islands
Eastport, Maine, USA^[6]

Photogallery

Húsavík harbor (1)
Húsavík harbor (2)
Church of Húsavík
Whales in Skjalfandi near Húsavík

References

^ "Weatherbase: Historical Weather for Husavik, Iceland". Weatherbase. 2011. Retrieved on November 24, 2011.
^ "Whale museum homepage".
^ Strong, Bob (2008-05-15). "Icelandic museum offers long and short of male organ". Reuters.
^ [1]
^ Iceland 1988 - RSSSF
^ "Nordurthing homepage" (in Icelandic). nordurthing.is.

External links

[Weatherbase-1] "Weatherbase: Historical Weather for Husavik, Iceland". Weatherbase. 2011. Retrieved on November 24, 2011.

[2] "Whale museum homepage".

[3] Strong, Bob (2008-05-15). "Icelandic museum offers long and short of male organ". Reuters.

[4] [1]

[5] Iceland 1988 - RSSSF

[6] "Nordurthing homepage" (in Icelandic). nordurthing.is.

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@@ Line 189: / Line 189: @@
 File:Husavik Harbor 2006.jpg|Húsavík harbor (1)
 File:Húsavík harbor. Northern Iceland.jpg|Húsavík harbor (2)
-File:Iceland -- 2008-08-08 13-39-32.jpg|The Icelandic Phallological Museum in Húsavik
 File:Husavik1.jpg|Church of Húsavík
 File:Husavik whales.JPG|Whales in Skjalfandi near Húsavík