Reykjanes Maritime Center

Cove Sandvik, south of the Hafnarberg Cliffs, is a popular recreational area of the passers by travelling through the southwesternmost part of the Reykjanes Peninsula.

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The normal fault and tension fracture, Hrafnagjá, is the longest of its kind at the Reykjanes peninsula. It is 12 km long and up to 30 m high. The set of fractures east of Vogar village forms a typical rift valley.

Location: Hrafnagjá is visible from Reykjanesbraut (road nr. 41) to Keflavík International Airport. A hikingtrail leads to the location from the parking place by the intersection of the town Vogar.

Hrafnagjá is a geosite in the Reykjanes Unesco Global Geopark.

Company: Keilir

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Company: Hljómahöll

Name of the facility: Merkines

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Vogastapi was named "The Heifer Cove Cliff", later "The Cove Cliff" and sometimes just "The Cliff" by the inhabitants of the area. It is an 80 m. high, dolerite hillock between Coves Vogavik and Njardvik. It is precipitous towards the sea, but has a gradual gradient inland. It is mostly sparsely vegetated and somewhat barren in places. The main road to the western communities crosses it. The view from its highest point, Grimsholl, is excellent and a view dial explains the topographical names of the surroundings. Up to this date the Vogastapi Area is haunted by a ghost, which has mislead people off the brink of the cliff. During the motorized age, some of the passers by have noticed a being carrying its head under its arm and sometimes drivers travelling alone spotted it in their rear view mirrors sitting in the back seats.

A crater row formed in eruption 2.350 years ago.

It created natural harbour condtions in the town Grindavík. Sundahnúkur was used as a landmark for the Grindavík harbour in former times.

Kirkjubol was a farm at Gardskagi, often occupied by rich farmers and noblemen. In 1433, a group of men, escorting Bishop Jon Gerreksson of Skalholt under the command of Magnus Kaemaster, who had asked for the hand of Margret, the daughter of Governor Vigfus Holm, but suffered rejection, visited Kirkjubol. Magnus was furious and decided to set the farm afire and burn Margret alive. She was, however, the only person to escape from the fire and get away on horseback. She vowed to marry the man who would carry out her revenge. It was done by Thorvaldur Loftsson from the farm Modruvellir in the North.

In 1550, the last catholic bishop of the northern see was executed. Kristian, the envoy of the Danish Governor, was responsible for that decision. In the early part of 1551 he travelled with a large group of men to the Reykjanes Peninsula on the King´s business and spent the night at Kirkjubol. During the night a group of men from the North attacked the farm, and with the permission of the farmer they breached the roof to get in, where they killed Kristian and most of his men. Their bodies were buried north of the home fields. Immediately afterwards the dead started haunting the living and the Northlanders exhumed the bodies, severed the heads from them and put them at their buttocks to prevent any further wanderings of their souls. News of the slayings and the demeaning burying methods reached the King´s court and Danish soldiers were sent to the farm to apprehend the farmer, who was then beheaded at Farm Straumur.

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The Zoological Viking Home is in operation next door to the Vikingworld. These are some calves, lambs and goats as well as chickens and rabbits in a fun environment. All the animals have in common to be of the same kind as the domestic animals brought over the Atlantic Ocean with the first permanent settlers in Iceland over 1100 years ago.

An ancient fishing outfit and a trading post just south of Stafnes.

It was one of the harbours of the Danish Trade Monopoly posts comprising Hafnir, Stafnes and Midnes. During the night of January 9th 1799 a catastrophic tidal flood devastated Batsendar. It swept most of the houses away and some of the people barely escaped. Only one old woman drowned. This was the most devastating, tidal flood in the history of the country.

How to get there: Road from Sandgerði to Stafnesi. There is a parking and walk from there until you see ruins of the place and old wall made from rocks.

Two volcanic fissures lie from the sea onto land on the western side of Reykjanes and form a series of craters. These crater series have been named Stampar. The crater series are from two periods. This series lies in the SW-NE direction and follow thereby the most common fissure angle in Reykjanes.

The older formed in an eruption from a fissure that was just under 4 km long around 1,800 to 2,000 years ago.

The younger Stampar crater series formed in the Reykjanes Fires in 1210-1240. The row of craters is around 4 km, and the area of the lava field they produced is approximately 4.6 km². The two craters closest to the road, named Stampar, are at the north end of the crater row. Further south in the crater row are other sizeable craters such as Miðahóll hill, Eldborg the deeper and Eldborg the shallower. Fishermen in earlier times used all these craters as points of reference when out at sea. Most of the craters, however, are low-lying scoria cones and not very prominent.

It may be noted that during the Reykjanes Fires in 1210-1240, there were four lava flows in the Reykjanes and Svartsengi system, as well as submarine eruptions in the seas off Reykjanes.

The Hundred Crater Trail, a signposted trail, lies partly through the Stampar lava field. The trail starts at Valahnúkur in Reykjanes. The trail also passes through the Reykjanes geothermal zone, past slag and scoria cones, the tuff mountain Sýrfell and on to the Stampar craters. From there, the path lies over rough pahoehoe lava and sand dunes, running from the west side of the crater closest to the road, along the row of craters, on to the seaward side of the Reykjanes Power Plant. The craters along the trail are numerous and fragile.

Walking up onto the crater nearest the road is permitted. It is important, however, to make sure that sensitive natural formations are not disturbed.

Location: Road 425 about 2,5 km north of Rauðhólar, short walk from there

Kalmanstjorn is an abandoned farm, a former mansion to the south of Lake Kalmanstjorn, where there are still some ruins reminding of the habitation, where the mansion of Kirkjuhofn stood. According to a legend the house had 50 doors. The farm Kalmanstjorn is said to have been an outlying farm from the mansion Kirkjuhofn. It was a church site and some people claim to be able to see some traces of the cemetery there. A short distance further south is Sandhofn and still further Sandhofn, which was abandoned in 1828. Those farms were all abandoned because of earthquakes and sandstorms.

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Stafnes was a mansion in the past. There were many fishing outfits on the property and many people lived there during the fishing seasons. Royal fishing outfits started operating there around the middle of the 16th century and were abolished in 1769. The inhabitants of the King´s properties in the Southwest were obliged to work on the King´s boats against low pay. During the 17th and 18th centuries, Stafnes was the most populous fishing outfit on the Reykjanes Peninsula. The former trading post Basendar is a short distance to the south. Still further south is the old harbour Thorshofn, which was not much used, because of the proximity of Basendar. Many vessels have run aground on the Stafnes Skerries. In 1928 the trawler President Jon ran aground there, 15 of the crew drowned, but 10 were rescued. This and other similar accidents led to the establishment of The Life Saving Association of Iceland. Considerable seal hunting was practiced at Stafnes in earlier times.

Stafnesviti stands in between the towns Sandgerði and Hafnir at Stafnes and was built in 1925. It stands 8 m. tall built of concrete sement and stands on a concrete stall. It is painted yellow.

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Company: Hljómahöll

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Company: Hljomaholl

Name of the facility: Felagsbio

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One of the five major high temperature areas of the Reykjanes Peninsula.

It supplies all of the communities of the Reykjanes Area with hot water for house heating and other purpose. The famous Blue Lagoon comes from the discharge from the power station. Area of green patches north of the hill Svartsengisfell north of the town Grindavík. On summertime the people of Grindavík celebrate there.

Place of execution according to an old folk story.

Cliffs, two of which are quite high, with an inlet several fathoms deep between them. A tree between was laied between the two cliffs and men hanged from it a punishment for serious crimes.

Location: About 1 km from Básendar, short walk from road 45

A protective wall that lay from Kirkjuból to Útskálar.

The village of Garður at the north tip of the peninsula was named after the wall.

The wall or garður (cognate with English garth), which probably dated from the early days after the settlement, served to keep livestock away from the crops. The wall was broad and tall, built of turf and large rocks. Remnants of it are visible by the old road between Garður and Sandgerði. While today the only reminder of agriculture in the area is fields of grass, several hundred years after the settlement farmers were still cultivating such crops as wheat, oats and barley.

Location: From Útskálakirkja in Garður to Kirkjubólsvelli. By road 45, towards Garðskagalighthouse.

Company: Ráin

Name of the facility: Brúin

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Company: Hljómahöll

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Kirkjuvogur (Church Cove) was a mansion in Hafnir, an annexed church site of the Grindavik parish, which was long served by the reverends of Utskalar. Still earlier, Kirkjuvogur was served from Hvalsnes. The catholic churches were dedicated to the Holy Mother. During the flood storm of 1799 the church was severely damaged. Today the church belongs to municpality of Reykjanesbær. It is the the only black wooden church in the Reykjanes peninsula and is a great stop on the way to The Bridge Between Continents.

Arnarsetur is a short monogenetic volcanic fissure with scoria and spatter craters, formed in an eruption that was an integral part of the Reykjanes Fires, a volcano-tectonic episode from 1210 to 1240. The fissure is two kilometers in length and the lava formations that originate from it cover 20 square kilometers. They are rugged and contain lava tubes and remains of human activity. The name Arnarsetur means Eagle's nest and derives from a pair of eagles that lived in the area before.

Arnarsetur is located east of the road to town Grindavík (43). The exit is about half way from Reykjanesbraut (41) to Grindavík.

Inlet created because of a subsidence.

Important for birdlife and marine biology.

Location: Near small village Hafnir - short walk from road 44

Company: Hotel Keflavík

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Annually on the last weekend in august there is a family festival held in Sandgerði which emphazises on the enjoyment of people coming together and entertaining each other. Many events are available to people from Friday to Sunday because then all of the local citizens put in an effort to make the weekend as memorable as possible. For more information visit the official webpage of Sandgerði www.sandgerdi.is

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Each summer in August a Family Day is held in Vogar in Vatnsleysuströnd. At this time the family is in the forefront and everyone is welcome. The program is mostly arranged by the locals and made to fit all ages of family members. Among other things for amusement are soap-soccer, fishing in the harbour, home-made car race and many other interesting and amusing things.
Also look for other events and more information about the festival on www.vogar.is

The Lighthouse at Holmsberg was built in1956 and stands 9,3 m tall with a compartmenet for the light of 3,4 m tall. It has identical lighthouses in 6 other parts of Iceland, all designed by the engineer Axel Sveinsson.

Seaweed-coverd rocks which are part of the Þráinsskjöldur Lava Flow.

They were formed about 10,000 years ago.

Due to the pourous roks that form the foundation of this part of Iceland fresh water seeps from the ground in many places.

Located near town Vogar.

One of the oldest and largest lava shield on the Reykjanes peninsula. Formed in late glacial time, about 14.000 years ago, when sea level was about 30 m lower than today.

Only recommend going there on well-equipped jeeps. By foot it is possible to walk on road between Svartsengi and Reykjanes

Ásbrú - Keflavík

Name of the facility: Andrews theater

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Patterson Airport was built in 1942 by the usa navy.

The airport was mainly used to maintain the aircrafts. Next to the airport can be found Subfossils shells, since 20.000-22.000 years ago. They lived shorly before the Late Glacial Maximum at about 18.000 years age. The sea level at that time was about 5-10 m. The airport was closed 1945.

Location: Road 44 at fence on Patterson. Walk north from old ammunition supplier

Bridge between Europe and North America on Reykjanes Peninsula.

The lava-scarred Reykjanes peninsula lies on one of the world's major plate boundaries, the Mid Atlantic Ridge. According to the continental drift theory the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates are continuously drifting apart with great forces under the gaping rifts. As the plates diverge, linear fractures, known as fissures form due to stresses created by the tension that builds up as the plates move away from each other.
The Bridge between two continents at Sandvík is a small footbridge over a major fissure which provides clear evidence of the presence of a diverging plate margin. The bridge was built as a symbol for the connection between Europe and North America.

One can cross the continental divide on Leif the Lucky's Bridge and take home a personalised certificate at the Reykjanes information center and Reykjanes Geopark visitor center at Duus Cultural house.

Helguvik is a small cove close to the freestanding rock Stakkur off Cliff Holmsberg, just north of Keflavik in the town Reykjanesbær. Nowadays this cove is a flourishing trade centre with an harbour, capelin meal factory, a processing factory for capelin, a lively cement trade and an asphalt factory. More industries are showing interest in settling in its vicinity.

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The church at Hvalsnes was consecrated in 1887. Ketill Ketilsson farmer and ship owner at Kotvogur, who then owned the land at Hvalsnes financed the building of the church. The church is preserved and is completely built of carved stone collected from the local plentiful area of rock. All of the wood in the interior was collected from the shores nearby. Extensive repairs were made to the church in 1945 under the supervision of the architect of the state. One of the most remarkable items of the church is the gravestone of Steinunn Hallgrímsdóttir who died when she was 4 years old in 1649. She was the daughter of Hallgrímur Pétursson Iceland's most important psalmist which at that time served as a priest at the parish in Hvalsnes. The gravestone was lost for a long time but was discovered again in 1964 but it had been used as a part of a walkway leading to the church.

The church is still operating today and fits 100 people.

Kalfatjörn is a former farm, parsonage and church site in the Vatnsleysa County. It was a parsonage until 1907, when the parish was united with the Gardar parish of the Kjalarnes deanery. During catholic times, the church was dedecated to St Peter. The present church was built in 1892-93 and consecrated June 11th 1893. It was built of wood and covered with corrugated iron on stone foundations. It seats 150 persons. It now belongs to the Tjorn Parish. The altarpiece, a replica of the one in the Reykjavik Cathedral, painted by Sigurdur Guðmundsson, is equally old as the church.

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Flat point at the northwestern part of the Reykjanes Peninsula.

It is from glacial periods and is between Ytri-Njarðvík and Kirkjuvog.

Rosmhvalur was another name for Walrus and the story says that they used to live there.

There is a new sign that shows a good way to drive around Reykjanes.

Cliffs known as Gallows Cliffs or Hanging Rocks.

The cliffs were used to execute thieves captured in Þorbjarnarfell according to an old folk story.

Location: From road 43 there is a short walk.

A pond with good walking paths, picnic facilities and a barbecue.

Next to Seltjörn is Sólbrekkuskógur, a small forest, but sheltered and lovely as it is situated hugging small slopes, with interesting rock formations in a few places.

Keflavík

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Hafurbjarnarstadir is a farm on Gardskagi.

Next to the property is Skagagarður the great stone wall that was between Skagatá and Garðskagi and there it got the name. This place is really important for the history because a burial site was discoverd. Some bones and antiquities were found in 1868 and moved to Antiquarian Museum in Reykjavik. In 1947 9 graves were discovered and 7 or 8 bodies, bones of dogs and horses. More antiquities were discoverd like arms, jewellery and most likely remains of boat grave.

Junkaragerdi was a farm just north of the Hafnarberg Cliffs. Its name was probably derived from 12-18 foreigner, who lived there, and were called "Junkers". They were said to be heavy drinkers, strong men, and womanizers. The neighbours wanted to get rid of them, and one night they damaged the rowlocks of their boats. The Junkers went fishing in the early morning and during the day they encountered bad weather and the rowlocks broke. The Junkers then supported the oars with their knees and got back home. The next time their oars were sawn half through and the saw marks were hidden. The Junkers went fishing and never came back.

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This is a deep southern inlet of the big Faxi Bay between spit Keilisnes in the east and the Stakkur Peak of the Holmur Cliff in the west. The Stakkur Peak is crowned with a lighthouse. The bay was named after a freestanding rock in the sea off Cliff Holmsberg.

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Ásbrú - Keflavík

Name of the facility: Andrews Banquet

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During the 19th century ships started frequenting this harbour again. The merchants of Keflavik often unloaded salt, timber and heavy merchandize there and loaded fish from the farmers of Midnes and Hafnir. In the beginning of the 20th century the arrivals of ships diminished, because of the opening of the Sandgerdi harbour and a new trading post there.

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A free standing, hyaloclastite mountain north of Grindavik.

It offers great panoramic view over most of the Reykjanes Peninsula on fine days. The northeastern part of the mountain depicts thermal activity an to its north and northeast is an extensive high temperature area. It is split by a fissure called "The Thieves´ Gap" (Thjofagja), occupied by 15 thieves according to the legend. They were eventually overwhelmed and killed by trickery.

A popular recreational area.

Pounds, rich of vegetation and important resting place for migration birds.

Next to the pounds is Háibjalli, a 10 m high fault.

Location: Road 43 near Seltjörn and Sólbrekkuskógur.

On Garðskagi you can find two lighthouses, the older one and also the smaller of the two was once regarded as one of the best lighthouses in Iceland because it stood low and therefore mist was not a problem. Although there was risk of the lighthouse being damaged because of surf and it was sometimes not visible because of seastorm.

A new lighthouse was built on Garðskagi in 1944. At 28 metres it is the highest lighthouse in Iceland and was in second place in a survey which Rögnvaldur Guðmundsson supervised concerning the favorite lighthouses of the Icelandic people. Engineer Axel Sveinsson designed the lighthouse but the lighthouse is a radar transponder and used for weather surveilance. The operation of the
lighthouse is under the supervision of the Icelandic Maritime Administration.

Giganta in the mountain moved to Reykjanesbær during the family and cultural festival the Night of Lights in 2008 and is now located in Black Cave at the marina in Gróf. There Giganta has been settling in her nice cave with its superb view over the bay of Keflavík and Faxaflói.

Giganta is originally the creation of author Herdís Egilsdóttir who has written 16 stories about the little girl Sigga and her friend Giganta in the mountain. The last one describes her migration to Reykjanesbær. The Giganta is in full size and sits sleeping in a rocking chair in the kitchen.

Open every day from 10:00 -17:00. Free Admission

Contact:

Tel.: 420-3245
Email: duushus@reykjanesbaer.is
Website: www.skessan.is