Iceland, Akureyri

Akureyri is a town in the northern part of Iceland; it is the second largest urban area after Greater Reykjavík area but is the fourth largest municipality in Iceland after Hafnarfjörður, Kópavogur and Reykjavík. As of the December 1, 2007 census, the town had a total population of 17,253.

History

The Norse Viking Helgi magri (the slim) Eyvindarson originally settled the area in the 9th century. The first mention of Akureyri dates back to 1562 when a woman was sentenced there for adultery. In the 17th century Danish merchants based their camps on the actual Akureyri which was one of the numerous spits of land in Pollurinn.

During World War II, Akureyri was the base of Catalina flying boats from the Norwegian-British No. 330 Squadron RAF, which protected convoys from the United States to the United Kingdom and Murmansk from German submarines.

The 20th century in Iceland became the scene of a mass exodus from the countryside to the cities. Commerce and service industries grew to be the primary employers in Akureyri as the manufacturing industries started to decline in the 1990s.

In the early 21st century, fishing industries have become more important in Akureyri as two of the major fishing companies of Iceland has become a more important source of revenue and are expected to grow further in coming years.

Geography

Akureyri is located at 65°41N 18°06W. Positioned at the bottom-west side of the fjord Eyjafjörður. It is surrounded by mountains, the highest being Súlur 1213 m (3980 ft) and Hlíðarfjall 1116 m (3661 ft). The coast in the area is a narrow strip of flat land before a steep but low hill. In earlier times a few spits of land (Icelandic: eyri, thus Akur-eyri) jutted from the narrow coast but a lot of land has since been claimed from the sea so that today the coastline is more even except for the largest spit of land (eyri), Oddeyri, which was formed by the river Glerá that runs through the town.

Transport

Akureyri is a transport hub for the region, it is well connected by land, sea and air.Route 1 (the Ring Road) runs through Akureyri and connects it with other parts of the country.

The town has an airport that is mostly used for domestic flights but occasionally international flights use the airport as well. Air Iceland flies several times a day to Reykjavik, but there are also flights to Grimsey, Vopnafjörður and Þórshöfn.

The port of Akureyri is a vital structure for the town which largely bases its livelihood on fisheries. It is the site of a few large fish processing plants and trawlers come there to unload.