Guarded by a Firey Dragon I
The Otherworldly Landscape of Vopnafjörður
magine sailing towards a rough coastline and a range of magnificent blue mountains. Not only are you confronted by an utterly foreign and otherworldly landscape but also an otherworldy creature flying over the countryside; a dragon protecting this land of fire and ice. This was the sight facing a seafarer, who sailed to Iceland in ancient times, according to Heimskringla, an Old Norse kings’ saga. Nowadays, Vopnafjörður stands as a spectacular example of the grand, harsh, but yet beautiful, Icelandic landscape. Fortunately, this magnificent landscape is more welcoming to travellers now, when one certainly does not need to worry about escaping the fire of a dragon, though it would certainly be exciting to catch a glimpse of one. The dragon is Vopnafjörður’s icon and one of the four so-called landvættir – guardians of Iceland, who are pictured on Iceland’s coat of arms. This ancient, mythical figure
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leads one to wonder about Vopnafjörður’s nature and history. Its history reaches back 1100 years when the bay was first settled by Viking seafarers from Norway. It derives its name (literally meaning Weapon Fjord) from one of the settlers, who was called Eyvindur
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vopni. Vopnafjörður also boasts of its own Saga, Vopnfirðinga saga, which is centred around a dispute between local chieftains. The wide-stretching sandy coastline hosts a myriad of marine life forms and the magnificent cliffs and rocky islets of Vopnafjörður make a superb sight. They culminate in natural wonders such as Skjólfjörur, easily accessible by driving the old highway east of of Vopnafjörður village, which then becomes the high pass of Hellisheiði between Fljótsdalshérað and Vopnafjörður and provides travellers a spectacular view. The village of Vopnafjörður lies on the small peninsula of Kolbeinstangi, creating a lovely scene with its colourful old wooden houses just by the sea, surrounded by rocky cliffs and islets. It became one of Iceland’s major harbours for commerce in the 18th and 19th centuries. In the last half century, the