ABANDONED AREAS worth a visit

87 Old Herring Factory

Djúpavík

524 Árneshreppur

Westfjords djupavik.is

Shut down in the 1950s due to plummeting herring stock, this factory was once the largest concrete building in Iceland. Nowadays, its enormous stone chimneys stand ready to crumble, yet remain this ghost town’s tallest point. A scenic waterfall cascades only metres from the abandoned site, and an old staff vessel still rests on the nearby shoreline. This juxtaposition of the stunning nature and ugly industry creates a strangely unsettling atmosphere. Ásbjörn and his wife Eva purchased the property in the 1980s. They are also responsible for operating the Krossneslaug pool and Hólmavík’s Museum of Witchcraft and Sorcery. Visitors should not confuse this town’s abandoned factory with the one found further north in Ingólfsfjörður, though both properties possess a similarly unsettling ambience.

88 Dagver Ar Abandoned Farmstead

Near Hellnar

356 Snæfellsbær

West Iceland

89 Viking Village Film Set

Near Viking Cafe, Horni

781 Höfn í

Hornafirði

East Iceland

+354 478 2577 vikingcafe.is

90 Abandoned Farmstead

Heiði

Langanes

Peninsula

Northeast Iceland

The Dagverðará farmstead is an old concrete house built in 1930. It was abandoned in the 1970s and has since remained a hollow architectural ghost on the western lava plains of the Snæfellsnes Peninsula. Today, the site is unparalleled for photographers looking to include signs of human history in their images of Snæfellsjökull glacier, which forever stands as a giant backdrop behind the building.

Amidst the jutting peaks of the Stokksnes Peninsula, bewildered travellers might stumble across what appears to be the derelict ruins of a Viking Age village. However, this is an abandoned shooting location for a 2010 film that did not make it to our screens. Today, the area at the base of Mount Vestrahorn is both peaceful and dramatic, with this forgotten backlot only adding to the site’s charm.

Along the 40-kilometre strip of Langanes (Long) Peninsula, one can find a dilapidated farmstead built in 1932 and abandoned around 20 years later. With its open window frames, dirty grey concrete, and red corrugated rooftop, this neglected property is a true prize for landscape photographers looking to blend stunning nature and ghostly history in their pictures of Iceland.