Patreksfjörður is named after Patrekur (d :963), bishop of Suðureyjar (e : Hebrides), but the settler Örlygur Hrappsson, who settled Patreksfjörður and settled down in Örlygshöfn on the southern side of Patreksfjörður, named the fjord after the bishop. Patreksfjörður is the southernmost fjord of the Westfjords, and the village of the same name with about 700 inhabitants is the largest town on the southern side of the Westfjords, and the third largest in the quarter after Ísafjörður and Bolungarvík. The settlement in the fjord is part of Vesturbyggð, the westernmost municipality in Europe, while Bjarntangar, the westernmost part of Látrabjarg, is the westernmost part of Iceland. The fjord has been built from the settlement, and Vatneyri, where the town stands, was one of the 25 trading locations of the monopoly trading in Iceland. It wasn’t until the early 1900s that more densely areas were formed by the fjord, but then as now it was primarily the fishing industry, and now also salmon farming that creates employment. It’s beautiful in many places in Patreksfjörður, and it only takes about six hours to drive from Reykjavík to the west.
Iceland 04/03/2024 : RX1RII, A7R III, A7R IV: 2.0/35mm Z, FE 1.2/50mm GM, FE 2.8/100mm GM, FE 1.4/24mm GM, FE 2.8/90mm G
Photographs & text: Páll Stefánsson
