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Stykkishólmur

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Norwegian house in Stykkisholmur

Template:Infobox Icelandic municipality Stykkishólmur (Icelandic pronunciation: [ˈstɪhcɪsˌhoulmʏr̥]) is a town and municipality situated in the western part of Iceland, in the northern part of the Snæfellsnes peninsula. It is a center of services and commerce for the area. Most of the people make their living from fishing and tourism. A ferry called Baldur goes over the Breiðafjörður fjord to the Westfjords. It also is the gateway to Flatey. The origin of Stykkishólmur can be traced to one important thing, a natural harbor. Because of these excellent conditions Stykkishólmur became an important trading post early in Iceland’s history. The first trading post in Stykkishólmur is traced back to the late 16th century, even before Denmark implemented the notorious Danish–Icelandic Trade Monopoly (1602 – 1787). From that time trading has been at the heart of Stykkishólmur history. In 1828 Árni Thorlacius built a large house for his home and companies, the Norwegian house. That marvelous house is still standing and was renovated some years ago and accommodates the local museum.[1]

Overview

The favourable position of the town was discovered rather early and in 1550 a trading post was founded at the site. Today, the most important employer of the town after the fishing industry is summer-time tourism.

The town was named after a small island in front of the harbour with the name Stykkið (meaning the piece in Icelandic). The nearby mountain of Helgafell is the burial place of Guðrún Ósvífursdóttir, a heroine of the Icelandic sagas.

The town's former library has been restored as a public hall and contains an installation by the American artist Roni Horn.

The sports club of Stykkishólmur is called Snæfell (Umf. Snæfell), named after a glacier which is located on Snæfellsnes, called Snæfellsjökull. Their basketball team is one of the strongest in the country.

Climate graph of 1880–1980 average air temperatures at Stykkishólmur

In the novel Red Storm Rising from 1986, Stykkishólmur was the site of a landing by American Marines tasked to liberate Iceland from occupying Soviet forces.

The internationally famous chess champion Bobby Fischer was planning on moving to Stykkishólmur before his sudden death in early 2008.

Stykkishólmur was featured as one of the destinations in the 2013 movie, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.[2]

Climate

Stykkishólmur features a true subpolar oceanic climate, the least cold of all the polar climates, with cool summers (<10°C, considered by most as the limit of polar climates) but with winter averages less cold than cities much further south featuring temperate continental climates, such as Chicago, Milwaukee, Toronto, or Denver, due to the ocean currents moderating the climate.

Climate data for Stykkisholmur
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 10.2
(50.4) 		9.8
(49.6) 		10.0
(50.0) 		12.0
(53.6) 		16.6
(61.9) 		17.9
(64.2) 		21.0
(69.8) 		20.8
(69.4) 		16.2
(61.2) 		13.5
(56.3) 		11.4
(52.5) 		10.7
(51.3) 		21.0
(69.8)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 1.0
(33.8) 		1.6
(34.9) 		1.7
(35.1) 		4.4
(39.9) 		8.0
(46.4) 		11.1
(52.0) 		12.8
(55.0) 		12.4
(54.3) 		9.2
(48.6) 		6.0
(42.8) 		3.0
(37.4) 		1.6
(34.9) 		6.1
(43.0)
Daily mean °C (°F) −1.3
(29.7) 		−0.7
(30.7) 		−0.8
(30.6) 		1.6
(34.9) 		4.9
(40.8) 		8.1
(46.6) 		9.9
(49.8) 		9.6
(49.3) 		6.7
(44.1) 		3.9
(39.0) 		0.9
(33.6) 		−0.8
(30.6) 		3.5
(38.3)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) −3.6
(25.5) 		−2.9
(26.8) 		−2.9
(26.8) 		−0.6
(30.9) 		2.6
(36.7) 		5.9
(42.6) 		7.8
(46.0) 		7.5
(45.5) 		4.8
(40.6) 		2.0
(35.6) 		−1.1
(30.0) 		−3.0
(26.6) 		1.4
(34.5)
Record low °C (°F) −16.0
(3.2) 		−17.7
(0.1) 		−19.0
(−2.2) 		−16.0
(3.2) 		−6.7
(19.9) 		−0.8
(30.6) 		2.0
(35.6) 		1.2
(34.2) 		−2.8
(27.0) 		−8.0
(17.6) 		−10.8
(12.6) 		−14.8
(5.4) 		−19.0
(−2.2)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 67.5
(2.66) 		68.9
(2.71) 		71.7
(2.82) 		52.9
(2.08) 		33.7
(1.33) 		40.2
(1.58) 		42.0
(1.65) 		51.7
(2.04) 		56.6
(2.23) 		80.3
(3.16) 		66.8
(2.63) 		71.6
(2.82) 		704.6
(27.74)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.1 mm) 16.8 15.7 17.6 15.6 11.8 12.7 12.5 13.4 14.7 17.2 16.1 17.5 181.8
Source: Icelandic Meteorological Office [3]

Town festival

Every year the people in Stykkishólmur celebrate the "Danskir dagar" ("Danish days" in Icelandic) festival. This festival is held on the second or third weekend in August every year where the town's historic connections with Denmark are celebrated. This festival has been held every year since 1995.

Friendship towns

Stykkishólmur from the lighthouse
Stykkishólmur from the lighthouse

See also

References

  1. ^ "Hit Iceland information page about Iceland"
  2. ^ "Assisting the Daydreamer". Filminiceland.com. Retrieved 2013-12-27.
  3. ^ "30 years average 1961-1990 for selected stations". Icelandic Meteorological Office. Retrieved December 4, 2012.
  4. ^ Vänorter - http://www.orebro.se/2444.html:
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