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Fáskrúðsfjörður

Coordinates: 64°55′45.83″N 14°00′37.6″W / 64.9293972°N 14.010444°W / 64.9293972; -14.010444
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Fáskrúðsfjörður
Town
Former French Hospital (right)
Former French Hospital (right)
Location of the Municipality of Fjarðabyggð
Location of the Municipality of Fjarðabyggð
Fáskrúðsfjörður is located in Iceland
Fáskrúðsfjörður
Fáskrúðsfjörður
Location in Iceland
Coordinates: 64°55′45.83″N 14°00′37.6″W / 64.9293972°N 14.010444°W / 64.9293972; -14.010444
Country Iceland
ConstituencyNortheast Constituency
RegionEastern Region
Municipality Fjarðabyggð
Population
 (2011)
 • Total
662
Time zoneUTC+0 (GMT)
WebsiteOfficial website

Fáskrúðsfjörður (Icelandic pronunciation: [ˈfauːˌskruðsˌfjœrðʏr̥] ; previously named also Búðir[1] [ˈpuːðɪr̥]) is a village (þorp) in eastern Iceland.

It has a population of 662 (as of 2011) and constitutes one of the villages composing the municipality of Fjarðabyggð.

Geography

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Fáskrúðsfjörður, located on the same-named fjord, lies between Reyðarfjörður and Stöðvarfjörður. It is one of the easternmost settlements of Iceland.

The other neighbouring villages which compose the municipality of Fjarðabyggð are: Eskifjörður (1,043 inh.), Mjóifjörður (35 inh.), Neskaupstaður (1,437 inh.),[2] Reyðarfjörður (1,102 inh.) and Stöðvarfjörður (203 inh.).[3]

History and culture

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Fáskrúðsfjörður was home to a hospital founded to serve French fishermen working here until 1935. The former hospital building dating from 1903 has now been restored as a hotel.[4] Even nowadays there are bilingual signs in town indicating the street names in Icelandic and in French. The French cemetery with 49 graves of fishermen from France and Belgium is another tourist attraction. The cross was erected in 2009.[5]

The village is now a centre for visitors viewing the Northern Lights.

Attractions

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There are tour operators offering trips by boat to the small uninhabited island Skrúður which is famous for its large variety of sea birds, especially for its puffins.[6] In the east of Fáskrúðsfjörður, on the farm Kolfreyjustaður a church (Kolfreyjustaðakirkja) was built of driftwood in 1878, which is famous for its wall paintings dating from 1957 and for its retable painted by the Danish artist Niels Anker Lund (1840–1922).[7] Vattarnesviti is an orange lighthouse on the peninsula of Vattarnes in the northeast of Fáskrúðsfjörður built in 1957.[8]

Twin towns

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Photogallery

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References

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  1. ^ Parnell, Fran; O'Carroll, Etain (2007). Iceland. 6th ed. Footscray (Vic.); Oakland (CA): Lonely Planet. pp. 269–270. ISBN 978-1-74104-537-6
  2. ^ Most likely located in the Norðfjörður
  3. ^ (in Icelandic) Infos on Fjarðabyggð municipal website Archived 2011-03-25 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ "A French Hospital turned into a Hotel in Fáskrúðsfjörður". Iceland magazine. Archived from the original on 2016-08-09. Retrieved 2017-07-15.
  5. ^ "Voyage en Islande - Fáskrúðsfjörður et les pêcheurs d'Islande". Archived from the original on 25 December 2012.
  6. ^ Barbara and Jörg-Thomas Titz: Island, p. 442. Bielefeld 2005
  7. ^ "Kolfreyjustaðarkirkja - NAT ferðavísir". 20 July 2020.
  8. ^ "Vattarnesviti".
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Media related to Fáskrúðsfjörður at Wikimedia Commons

64°55′45.83″N 14°00′37.6″W / 64.9293972°N 14.010444°W / 64.9293972; -14.010444