Who named Önundarfjörður according to the ancient Landnámabók? The Viking Önundur Víkingsson around the year 900, is the answer. He built a farm by this beautiful 20 km / 12 mi long fjord, which lies between Dýrafjörður in the south and Súgandafjörður in the north, in the northern part of the Westfjords. The village in the fjord, Flateyri, now has about 250 inhabitants, roughly the same number as in 1900, when one of the largest whaling stations in the country was at Sólbakki, just outside Flateyri. When Flateyri was at its bustling peak around 1970, nearly six hundred people lived there. The village is undeniably one of the gems of the Westfjords, with a charming town center, a very good restaurant, Vagninn, a unique shop, a bookstore that has been run by the same family since 1914, and not to forget the beautiful midnight sun later in the summer in Flateyri. Although summer is beautiful in Önundarfjörður, winters can be harsh. A deadly avalanche fell on the town in 1995, and another in 2020, which destroyed the harbor, but fortunately, no one was seriously injured in that avalanche. It is almost a six-hour drive from Reykjavik to the fjord of Önundur.
Önundarfjörður 23/07/2024 : A7RIV – FE 2.8/100mm GM, FE 1.4/20mm G
Photos & text : Páll Stefánsson
