Hafnir is a unique village on the southern and western side of Reykjanes, only 12 km (7
mi) from Keflavik. Today, according to Statistics Iceland, it has 107 inhabitants — far
fewer than in 1900, when small-boat fishing was thriving here. When motorboats
arrived, they required proper harbors, but the shallows at Hafnir offered no possibility
to build a real harbor.
It was Herjolfur Bardarson, a relative of Ingolfur Arnarsson, Iceland’s first settler, who
claimed land at Hafnir. His grandson Bjarni Bardarson was a great Viking who sailed all
the way west to mainland America without going ashore in the year 987. This voyage is
said to have inspired his countryman Leifur Eiriksson to set out thirteen years later in
search of lands to the west.
Hafnir, once the largest by area but smallest in population of the municipalities on
Reykjanes, merged with Keflavik and Njardvik in 1994 to form Reykjanesbaer, now the
fourth most populous town in Iceland.
Photos & Text : Páll Stefánsson
Hafnir 18/09/2025 – RX1R II, A7C R : 2.0/35mm Z, FE 1.8/135mm GM
