A SHORT HISTORY OF AKUREYRI The history of the area where Akureyri is now stretches back to the 9th century when Helgi magri (Helgi the thin), a Norse Viking, settled in the area. Later on, Danish merchants used the location as for their trading posts. Eyjafjörður is a fertile area for agriculture and has been populated since Iceland’s settlement. Helgi magri (Helgi the thin), so called after being starved as a child, was the first settler in the area. The name Akureyri isn’t mentioned until several centuries later, in 1562. It was under somewhat compromising conditions, in a court document where a woman was sentenced for having premarital sex. At the time, Akureyri only contained some houses used by Danish merchants when they were trading in Iceland in the summer. They weren’t allowed to live there all year round until 1778. The town was recognised as an official market town a few years later although the town didn’t really start to blossom until the mid-19th century. Since then, Akureyri has grown into an important hub of commerce, production, arts, culture and education for the north of Iceland. The history of Akureyri is embedded into the town itself, its buildings and streets. The buildings represent different stages of time in history, from the charming houses of the old town, through the more modern centre and all the way to some of the most recent buildings on the north side of town.
8
If you’re interested in learning more about the history of Akureyri, a trip to the Akureyri Museum
is a must. Akureyri also has preserved some of the houses of notable poets that lived in town. You can visit the house of Matthías Jochumsson who wrote the national anthem, Jón Sveinsson, Nonni, the author of several autobiographical children’s books about growing up in Akureyri and poet Davíð Stefánsson. Besides the importance of these museums to Icelandic literature, they are also interesting examples of how the people of Akureyri lived through the years.