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20-593: The largest town in the region is Egilsstaðir , with a population of around 2,600. The oldest municipality is Djúpivogur , which got their trading licence in 1589 and had a population of 470 in 2015. The only car and passenger ferry that sails between Iceland and the European continent calls at Seyðisfjörður once a week except in the winter season. The region is home to the Kárahnjúkar Hydropower Plant . Among notable tourist destinations are

40-522: A subarctic climate ( Köppen : Dfc ) or a subpolar oceanic climate ( Cfc ) bordering very closely on a Tundra climate ( ET) . Winters there tend to be colder than other towns in the area, and summers tend to have daytime highs often exceeding 15 °C (59 °F), higher than most of Iceland, but at night it is colder than most towns with a similar climate. The town being at a relatively low elevation somewhat shielded from maritime winds enables warmer air to stay for longer than in coastal areas, although

60-404: A road made over Fagridalur to Reyðarfjörður . Later, the regional headquarters for mail and telephone services were located at Egilsstaðir. In 1947 Egilsstaðir was incorporated as a town and a rural jurisdiction Egilsstaðahreppur , with neighbouring jurisdictions Vallahreppur and Eiðahreppur joining the new jurisdiction. The town soon grew and by 1980 the population exceeded 1000. In 1987,

80-489: A smelter, cast house, rod production and deep-water port . The smelter employs 450 people and produces 940 tons of aluminium a day, with capacity of 346,000 metric tons of aluminium per year. Fjarðaál means "Fjords aluminium" in Icelandic . For the smelter, the new Kárahnjúkar Hydropower Plant in the neighboring municipality of Fljótsdalshérað was built. On 17 June 2017, a new Catholic Church ( St. Thorlak Church )

100-457: Is 29.2 °C (84.6 °F) on 11 August 2004, recorded at Egilsstaðir Airport . The climate has significantly warmed in recent years, as seen in the climate averages for the 1991–2020 reference period. Rey%C3%B0arfj%C3%B6r%C3%B0ur Reyðarfjörður ( Icelandic pronunciation: [ˈreiːðarˌfjœrðʏr̥] ) is a town in Iceland . It has a population of 1,350 and is one of

120-403: Is a fairly recent trend compared to mainland Europe. It was established in 1947 as an effort by the surrounding rural districts recognizing it had become a regional service centre. The town takes name from an individual farmstead and is in this respect relatively unique within the country where most or all of the towns take name from broader landmarks. It is near the bridge over Lagarfljót where all

140-471: The Helgustaðir mine , which is known for its Iceland spar , and Stuðlagil . 65°17′N 14°23′W  /  65.283°N 14.383°W  / 65.283; -14.383 This Iceland location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Egilssta%C3%B0ir Egilsstaðir ( Icelandic pronunciation: [ˈeijɪlsˌstaːðɪr̥] ) is a town in east Iceland on

160-593: The Egilsstaðir farm by erecting a large residential building there at the start of the 20th century. The house is still in use as a hotel. Jón bought the farm Egilsstaðr at the close of the 19th century because of its location when he predicted "Crossroads will be here", which proved prescient. Along with others, Jón Bergsson also took the initiative to establish the co-operative Kaupfélag Héraðsbúa (KHB) with headquarters there in 1909. In subsequent years, bridges were built over Lagarfljót river and Eyvindará river and

180-406: The banking collapse in 2008. In written accounts, Egilsstaðir is first mentioned in the 15th century as a place for legislative assembly. Nothing is therefore known with certainty about the individual person Egil lending it its name, the only conjecture to this effect met with in books detailing the story of the town is that it may be named after Egil Síðu-Hallsson, but Hallr at Síða was a captain in

200-556: The banks of the Lagarfljót river. It is part of the municipality of Múlaþing and the largest settlement of the Eastern Region with, as of 2020, a population of 2,522 inhabitants. Formerly Egilsstaðir was part of Norður-Múlasýsla . Egilsstadir is located at 65°17′N 14°23′W  /  65.283°N 14.383°W  / 65.283; -14.383 . The town is young, even by Icelandic standards where urbanization

220-599: The contractor Bechtel , requiring thousands of workers from various countries, most notably from Poland . At one point, the town had the highest concentration of foreign residents of any community in the country, and the number of workers reached as high as 2,800. By 2008, the construction workers had left. The townspeople have faith in the aluminium plant for the continuing prosperity of their old community, and surrounding communities. The Fjarðaál aluminium smelter reached full production capacity in April 2008. The facility contains

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240-569: The early 20th century, Reyðarfjörður was a trading port, as well as a fishing port. Due to its strategic location and good harbour conditions, it became the second-largest of the Allied bases in Iceland during World War II . There is a World War II museum located at the old camp above the town. Reyðarfjörður joined Eskifjörður and Neskaupstaður in 1998 to form the new municipality of Fjarðabyggð ("fjords-settlement"). The other villages composing

260-573: The east and an uncle to Rollo in France, but this guess is of controlled probability and most likely the person left no other recort of himself. The nearby river Eyvindará is mentioned in the Saga of the Sons of Droplaug and Saga of the inhabitants of Fljótsdalur . Urbanization in Egilsstaðir can be traced to Jón Bergsson (1855–1923), a farmer, who laid the groundwork for increased commerce and services at

280-400: The effect of southerlies become negated by high mountains blocking such winds, and as a result Egilsstaðir still has a lot cooler summers than continental Nordic climates have on similar latitudes. Egilsstaðir being relatively close to the east coast also increased the maritime moderation both in summer and winter. With Central Iceland being at a highland tundra , the Egilsstaðir area is still

300-584: The main roads of the region meet, Route 1 as well as the main routes to the Eastern Region . Egilsstaðir has grown to become the largest town of East Iceland and its main service, transportation, and administration centre. The town has an airport , college, and a hospital. The town grew quickly during the economic boom in the region from 2004 to 2008 associated with the building of the Kárahnjúkar Hydropower Plant and Alcoa 's aluminium smelting plant in Reyðarfjörður . The growth has slowed markedly since

320-498: The most populated villages that constitute the municipality of Fjarðabyggð . The town is at the bottom of the eponymous fjord , the largest on the east coast of Iceland. Like most other towns in the East Fjords , it is surrounded by mountains, of which the highest is about 972 metres (3,189 ft). Although the climate is particularly rainy and foggy, on clear summer days it often has the highest temperatures in Iceland. From

340-488: The municipality are: Eskifjörður (1,043 inh.), Fáskrúðsfjörður (662 inh.), Mjóifjörður (35 inh.), Neskaupstaður (1,437 inh.) and Stöðvarfjörður (203 inh.). A quiet fishing town since the war, Reyðarfjörður (and neighbouring communities) saw a revival in the early 2000s when Alcoa decided to build the Alcoa Fjarðaál [ˈfjarðaˌauːl̥] aluminium smelter there. It was built between 2004 and 2007 by

360-533: The status of the town was upgraded to kaupstaður and renamed Egilsstaðabær , or the town of Egilsstaðir. In early 2011, the population was 2,257 and had increased by 41 percent from 2001, when 1,600 were registered there. On 7 June 1998 Egilsstaðabær was united with Vallahreppur , Skriðdalshreppur , Eiðahreppur and Hjaltastaðarhreppur under the name Austur-Hérað . Austur-Hérað then became Fljótsdalshérað in 2004. In 2020 it joined other municipalities to form Múlaþing . Depending on isotherm Egilsstaðir has

380-533: The warmest for 1961–1990 summer maxima among Icelandic weather stations for populated areas. The figures here given for precipitation days and sunshine hours belong to Grímsárvirkjun and Hallormsstaður , which are 15 kilometres (9 mi) and 25 kilometres (16 mi) away from Egilsstaðir respectively and get around 100 millimetres (4 in) more precipitation than Egilsstaðir, so it is possible that Egilsstaðir has fewer days with precipitation and gets more sunlight than stated below. The highest temperature recorded

400-676: Was consecrated in the town in a ceremony led by Bishop David Tencer of Reykjavik . Tencer is a Capuchin Franciscan and a native of Slovakia and the church building was a gift from the Slovak Catholic Church . The church was built from wood in Slovakia, disassembled and shipped to Reydarfjordur, where it was re-assembled. Robert Fico , the Prime Minister of Slovakia , attended the consecration. Reyðarfjörður

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