Husavik has the distinction of being the first place in Iceland ever to be built in. In 870. before the permanent settlement, Swedish Viking explorer Gardar Svavarsson sailed around the then uninhabited (and unnamed) Iceland, proving it is an island. He wintered in the north, in quarters he had built in the "Bay of Houses".

A trading centre since 1614, Husavik developed into a village in the 19th century and was the home of the oldest cooperative society in Iceland, founded in 1882. The town has largely lived on fishing since then, with some agricultural processing, light industry and services. Husavfk is set with a commanding view over the bay of Skjáifandi ("Shaker") towards the rugged northern coastline to its east and west, and out to the open Arctic Ocean.

Local leisure activities include whale watching, horse riding, fishing, geothermal swimming and golf.

It is a popular base for day trips to the main attractions of north Iceland. Some 65 km away in Jökulsárgijúfur, lceland's largest national park, is Asbyrgi, a horseshoe-shaped plain bordered with columnar basalt walls, said to be the hoofprint left by the god 6din's horse, and H1jóõkiettar ("Echo Cliffs") with their wonderfully wrought patterns and haunting acoustic properties. From there, it is 27 km along the spectacular glacial river gorge to Dettifoss, Europe's most powerful waterfall, and a further 69 km to Lake Mývatn, the Krafla active volcanic field and Goõafoss waterfalls. One tour option is to overland and take in these sights, then on to Akureyri in the neighbouring fjord to rejoin the cruiser.

Port Contact

Mr. Stefán Stefánsson
Húsavík Harbour, 640 Húsavík, Iceland
Tel: +354 464 1575 / +354 893 9175
Fax: +354 464 2128
VHF:
Email: reinhard@husavik.is
Website: www.husavik.is

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