"Hafnarfjörður - Reykjavík´s neighouring town." Top 5 Page for this destination Hafnarfjörður by Regina1965

Hafnarfjörður Travel Guide: 51 reviews and 193 photos

Bjarni Sívertsen, the father of Hafnarfjörður.

The story of Hafnarfjörður.

Hafnarfjörður is part of the Great-Reykjavík area and celebrated its 100-year-birthday in June 2008 with a lot of activities, like a 100 meters' long cake, a big out-side concert, a lot of Viking activities in the Viking village, and dancing in the pier. Take a look at my travelogue for pictures from the festival. Bjarni Sívertsen 1763-1833 (my ancestor) was a pioneer in Icelandic shipping and trade and has been named the father of Hafnarfjörður and part of his former home hosts the Hafnarfjörður District Museum (see my tip). Here is the official website for Hafnarfjörður.

My mother´s cousin is the Mayor of Hafnarfjörður.

Hafnarfjörður is built on lava and walking through the town you come across big lava rocks in peoples' back-yard. It is a peaceful, friendly and lovely town with great atmosphere. In the old part of town there are lovely quaint little houses, I never get tired of taking a walk there. It is only a ten minutes' drive from Reykjavík, but the energy there is different from that in Reykjavík, much more peaceful.

Hafnarfjörður became a town in 1908 and was mainly built around the harbour with occasional farms there as well. Back then the population was 1.469 but in 2012 the population was 26.486 making it the 3rd largest town in Iceland.

The Viking Village.

The Viking festival at the Viking village.

Hafnarfjörður hosts the annual International Viking festival, which is held in June every year. The Viking-festival is held in The Viking Village "Fjörukráin", the Viking restaurant and Hotel Viking in Hafnafjörður. Have a look at their web-site Fjörukráin. The saying goes "you have not been to the real Iceland until you have experienced the Viking Village". "Vikings" from all over the world (mostly Scandinavia and England) gather here and the fun goes on for several days. They sell hand-made stuff, fur, roast a lamb, fight, tell stories and show us the ways of living of the old Vikings. There are a lot of tents where the "valkyrjur" sell fur and hand-made Viking "stuff" and there is also a fortune-teller selling cards. A whole lot of fun and activities.

This is a must if you are visiting Iceland at this time of year. See my tips of the Viking festival and The Viking village. And there are more pictures of the festival in my travelogue on this page.

The Hafnarfjörður harbour.

The monument by the harbour (Hartmut Wolf 2003).

Hafnarfjörður is built around the harbour which was once one of the main harbours in Iceland. The monument by the harbour is in remembrance of the first Lutheran church in Iceland which German people visiting Iceland from Hamburg built in 1533. It remained at church until 1603 and was taken down in 1608 by the order of Christian IV, King of Denmark.

The people living in Hafnarfjörður are commonly referred to as GAFLARAR.

Here is a good webpage Visit Hafnarfjörður

Pros and Cons

Pros:The town is known for its unity and hospitality.

Intro Updated Dec 29, 2012
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Reviews (21)

Garðabær - Hofsstaðir Settlement Age... Things to Do (20)

A Settlement Age farm was found in Garðabær in 1986. It is a Viking long-house dating back to ca 870-930, and an... more travel advice

The pond at Hellisgerði park. - Hafnarfjörður

Hellisgerði park - such a lovely park. Things to Do (20)

There is such a lovely park in Hafnarfjörður - Hellisgerði park. It is no ordinary park, it is located in a lava field,... more travel advice

Hafnarfjörður Museum - Siggubær -... Things to Do (20)

Siggubær - Sigga´s house is part of Hafnarfjörður Museum. It is not by the main area of Hafnarfjörður Museum, so one has... more travel advice

The Sívertsen house - upstairs. Things to Do (20)

Seeing that the Sívertsen´s house is the oldest house in Hafnarfjörður with so many rooms, I want to show you what it... more travel advice

Off The Beaten Path (1)
The Viking Circle/gallery on the Old...

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Comments (17)

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molkron Mar 6, 2013 at 4:20 AM

Regina, Rosa from the Museum contacted me recently and mentioned there will be festival in Iceland this summer to celebrate Bjarni's 250th birthday?? Do you know anything about this (Rosa did not have firm dates). I am considering coming all the way from Australia and would spend a week in Copenhagen also. June 19 will be 65th birthday. Any info would be most appreciated, and I would love to meet you and perhaps more of my relatives (Rosa tells me there are many living in the area). Best wishes, Kirsten
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  Regina1965 Mar 10, 2013 at 4:20 PM
  
  I sent a request to the official website of Hafnarfjörður, let´s see if they know the dates. I am travelling at the moment so I cannot phone them.
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  molkron Mar 10, 2013 at 4:27 PM
  
  Great! While I was writing to you I received a reply from Rosa! Seems it won't be around the Viking Festival. She is looking at a date some time in September which is probably better for me (more time to save up, and not so busy at work). What would weather be like at that time? I'll keep you posted if I have any more news. You should make yourself know to Rosa at the Heritage Museum ( I did already mention to her that we had been communicating and that you were also a family member. And considering all the work you have done on your website I'm surprised that two of you haven't crossed paths already. May I ask where you live? If you want to reply more privately, my email is molkron@bigpond.com. But it's ok if you prefer not to, as well!
  
  Cheers, Kirsten
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Yaqui Jan 27, 2013 at 1:30 PM

So many neat and interesting sights to see and enjoy! Nice page!
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Nemorino Jan 16, 2013 at 3:01 PM

Hi Regina, I see you have done numerous updates since I looked at this page two years ago. It certainly must have been strange for you to visit Sívertsen’s house and see the wax dolls of your own ancestors.
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  Regina1965 Jan 17, 2013 at 1:44 AM
  
  Hi Don. Yes, it was :) Thanks for visiting this page.
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molkron Oct 23, 2012 at 12:18 AM

Regina, You are doing a fantastic job with your Site and I really appreciate the photos of Bjarni's house, etc. As you might recall, I am your long-lost, and very distant "cousin" in Australia. Do you know anything about Bjarni's daughter Jarngerd and her husband Hans Wolner Kofoed. My email is molkron@bigpond.com and name is Kirsten Lagoni (in Australia)
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  Regina1965 Nov 1, 2012 at 1:08 PM
  
  Thanks, I hope you will be able to come for a visit one day - look me up if you get here :)
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  molkron Nov 2, 2012 at 1:47 AM
  
  You bet! Best wishes, Kirsten
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Yaqui Feb 15, 2012 at 2:40 PM

The gallery looks wonderful and I enjoyed learning about the Lave and the hidden people. Fantastic page!
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balhannah Jan 25, 2012 at 12:49 AM

Another excellent page! I really love the sound of the Viking festival, sounds like a lot of good fun!
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Nemorino Dec 12, 2010 at 2:04 PM

So that makes Bjarni Sigurðsson Sívertsen your great-great-great-great-great-grandfather! Fascinating that you can trace your ancestry back so far.
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Greggor58 Oct 17, 2010 at 6:21 PM

Your pages are informative and helpful.This Hafnarfjörður page is no exception...I wish I could pronounce the name...:o) You live in such an interesting and beautiful country.Somehow I need to find an opportunity to explore here!
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SLLiew Mar 8, 2010 at 10:19 AM

Well written tips. Thanks for sharing. Cheers, SL :)
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mvtouring Sep 6, 2009 at 7:32 AM

Thanks for the info on a very interesting place ;-)