Húsavík

Coordinates: 66°03′N 17°19′W / 66.050°N 17.317°W / 66.050; -17.317
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
This article is about the town in Iceland. For other uses, see Husavik (disambiguation).

Húsavík
Town
UTC+0 (GMT)
Post Code
640, 645
WebsiteOfficial website

Húsavík (Icelandic pronunciation: [ˈhuːsaˌviːk]) is a town in Norðurþing municipality on the north coast of Iceland on the shores of Skjálfandi bay with 2,307[1] inhabitants. The most famous landmark of the town is the wooden church Húsavíkurkirkja, built in 1907. Húsavík is served by Húsavík Airport.

Overview

Income is derived from tourism and fishing, as well as retail and small industry. Until recently, Húsavík was the export harbour for

silica that was extracted from nearby lake Mývatn
.

According to the

Viking Garðar Svavarsson stayed there for one winter around 870 A.D. When he left the island in spring of 870, after a winter's stay, he left behind a man named Náttfari and two slaves, a man and a woman, and they established a farm here.[2]
The name of the town means "bay of houses", probably referring to Garðar's homestead, which may have been the only houses then in Iceland.

Tourism

Húsavík has become a centre of whale watching in Iceland due to whales of different species that frequently enter the bay. The Húsavík Whale Museum is located in the town centre by the harbour. [3]

In town there is also a civic museum about culture and biology. Among other things, it shows a stuffed polar bear (arrived in Grímsey in 1969) and ancient boats.

Each year in mid July, Húsavík holds a festival called Mærudagar [ˈmaiːrʏˌtaːɣar̥], which translates to “Candy Days”. Thousands of people from all over Iceland come to the tiny town to enjoy this occasion which consists of music, colourful decorations, and an array of food and drink.

Húsavík is also home to The Exploration Museum, a museum about the history of human exploration. A monument honouring the Apollo astronauts that trained around Húsavík during the 1960s is located outside the museum.[4]

The Eurovision Museum, dedicated to the Eurovision Song Contest, had its soft opening in October 2021. An official grand opening was scheduled to happen sometime in 2022.[5]

The region of Mývatn, with its interesting geology and diverse animal life, is nearby. Jökulsárgljúfur National Park with the horseshoe-shaped canyon Ásbyrgi and the waterfalls Dettifoss, Hafragilsfoss and Selfoss is also not far from the town.

Sports

ÍF Völsungur is the local football club. They last played in Iceland's top tier in the 1988 season.[6]

Popular culture

Húsavík served as the setting of the 2020 Netflix film Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga, a comedic story of two Húsavík natives representing Iceland in the Eurovision Song Contest, with one of the film's songs named after the town. The song itself was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song at the 93rd Academy Awards.

The song's taped Best Original Song performance was filmed on location in Húsavík. In a break with Oscar tradition, all five songs had their performances pre-taped due to the COVID-19 pandemic instead of being performed live. "Húsavík" was the only one of the five nominated songs to have its pre-taped performance take place outside of the United States.

On 25 April 2021, the performance aired along with pre-taped performances of the other four nominated songs in that year's category. All five song performances were shown during the red carpet pre-show special that took place just before the main ceremony began.[7]

Residents of the town reported a significant jump in tourism following the film's release.[8] In 2021, The Eurovision Museum opened in Húsavík telling the story of the song contest and the film.

International relations

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Iceland

Twin towns – Sister cities

Climate

Húsavík has either a

warm-summer humid continental climate (Köppen: Dfb) or an oceanic climate (Köppen
: Cfb) depending on the isotherm used, −3 °C (27 °F) or 0 °C (32 °F), similar to much of coastal Iceland.

Climate data for Húsavík (2000-2019)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 13.1
(55.6) 		17.2
(63.0) 		19.0
(66.2) 		20.0
(68.0) 		23.5
(74.3) 		26.7
(80.1) 		28.3
(82.9) 		27.6
(81.7) 		22.4
(72.3) 		19.0
(66.2) 		15.5
(59.9) 		15.8
(60.4) 		28.3
(82.9)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 1.3
(34.3) 		1.6
(34.9) 		1.4
(34.5) 		5.9
(42.6) 		10.7
(51.3) 		13.8
(56.8) 		14.3
(57.7) 		13.6
(56.5) 		10.8
(51.4) 		6.3
(43.3) 		2.6
(36.7) 		1.4
(34.5) 		7.0
(44.5)
Daily mean °C (°F) −1.1
(30.0) 		−1.0
(30.2) 		1.0
(33.8) 		2.9
(37.2) 		6.9
(44.4) 		12.0
(53.6) 		13.9
(57.0) 		13.1
(55.6) 		10.2
(50.4) 		5.4
(41.7) 		2.0
(35.6) 		0.7
(33.3) 		5.5
(41.9)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) −4.2
(24.4) 		−3.7
(25.3) 		−4.0
(24.8) 		−1.6
(29.1) 		1.9
(35.4) 		5.4
(41.7) 		7.2
(45.0) 		6.9
(44.4) 		3.8
(38.8) 		1.0
(33.8) 		−2.3
(27.9) 		−4.0
(24.8) 		0.5
(32.9)
Record low °C (°F) −18.0
(−0.4) 		−16.5
(2.3) 		−21.2
(−6.2) 		−17.4
(0.7) 		−9.8
(14.4) 		−3.5
(25.7) 		0.5
(32.9) 		0.3
(32.5) 		−5.8
(21.6) 		−10.2
(13.6) 		−15.0
(5.0) 		−17.5
(0.5) 		−21.2
(−6.2)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 78.6
(3.09) 		60.2
(2.37) 		62.7
(2.47) 		50.4
(1.98) 		37.2
(1.46) 		42.0
(1.65) 		43.3
(1.70) 		58.2
(2.29) 		90.1
(3.55) 		101.4
(3.99) 		87.3
(3.44) 		77.1
(3.04) 		788.5
(31.03)
Source: Icelandic Met Office[11]

Daylight hours

Húsavík experiences midnight sun from 11 June until 29 June.[12]

Although Húsavík doesn't experience polar night in

UTC on 21 December.[12]

Gallery

  • Húsavík harbour (1)
    Húsavík harbour (1)
  • Church of Húsavík, Húsavíkurkirkja
    Church of Húsavík, Húsavíkurkirkja
  • Whales in Skjalfandi near Húsavík
    Whales in Skjalfandi near Húsavík

See also

References

  1. ^ "Mannfjöldatölur". Hagstofa Íslands. Statistics Iceland. Retrieved 23 February 2019.
  2. ISBN 978-0-313-37621-4
    .
  3. ^ "Whale museum homepage". Archived from the original on 6 July 2010.
  4. ^ Hnefill, Örlygur (12 August 2015). "Apollo astronauts revisit training area in Iceland and explore a new lava flow". The Exploration Museum. Archived from the original on 2 April 2019. Retrieved 12 August 2015.
  5. ^ "Eurovision Museum opens in Húsavík, Iceland". 27 October 2021.
  6. ^ Iceland 1988 – RSSSF
  7. ^ "Watch Molly Sandén Perform Original Song "Husavik" from 'Eurovision Song Contest' at 2021 Oscars".
  8. ^ Pearson, John (23 April 2021). "Húsavík, My Boomtown: Eurovision Lifts The North". the Reykjavik Grapevine.
  9. ^ "Aalborg Twin Towns". Europeprize.net. Archived from the original on 7 September 2013. Retrieved 19 August 2013.
  10. ^ "Nordurthing homepage" (in Icelandic). nordurthing.is.
  11. ^ "Climatological Data for Húsavík". Icelandic Meteorological Office. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
  12. ^ a b "Húsavík, Iceland daylight calculator (number of daylight hours, with sunrise and sunset, and daylight saving time)". jan.moesen.nu.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Húsavík.
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Húsavík.
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