port of
Raufarhรถfn Iceland
Welcome to the Arctic circle village Raufarhöfn Raufarhöfn is a small seaside village on the Arctic Edge and one of the Northernmost places in Iceland. The village ‘s main industry are fisheries, although tourism is picking up. Around 200 people live in the village. The harbor is unique for its natural surroundings with a cape guiding the ships to shore.
“Quiet and beautiful bathed in sun with the sea surrounding it in utter stillness as far as the eye can see”
Raufarhöfn is known for its peace and quiet and it is surrounded by spectacular nature. The tranquil village is situated near a wonderful national park only 40 minutes away from where Sleipnir, the horse of Odin the Norse god, put his hoof down. In the next village, Kópasker, only half an hour away, is an earthquake museum and a Folk Museum. Between the two villages is a magnificent prairie with spectacular birdlife.
The herring and Raufarhöfn
She is the Herring Girl Out by the Arctic Ocean she gracefully stands.
Herring was the name of the game in Raufarhöfn for a long time, and it has marked its history for decades. Around 1960, Raufarhöfn was one of the biggest herring villages in Iceland. In the late sixties, around eleven herring factories were up and running. In the late seventies, the herring moved away and ruined the village fisheries for a while. Today, Raufarhöfn is a friendly fishing village, rebuilding on cod and haddock catching.
Thanks to the energizing midnight sun she can work a little longer at the herring yard. How the sun-kissed sky colors her eyes. She is a herring girl - it is romantic, joyful, and decent. Isn’t it so? No matter the weather; even covered in fish guts, she lays a herring into a barrel. Beat the clock… - More salt! - A new barrel! work hard, long hours… way too long… sore fingers, aching back, aching feet. Wake up in the middle of the night, by a knock on your window… sleeping in the barracks… sometimes standing on the yard. Maybe she has a crush on a college boy working in the factory, or a valiant sailor. Maybe she has a husband working closed by and children waiting at home. A part of a prose by Ingibjörg Guðmundsdóttir
The Herring girl Down by the ocean stands the Herring Girl. A captivating piece of art in honor of the herring girls that used to salt herring in the past. The Herring Girl is the creation of Ingibjörg Guðmundsdóttir, an artist from a nearby village, and Björn Halldórsson, who made it out of driftwood. You should say Hi to the Herring Girl as she watches for the arrival of the next boat filled with the silver of the sea, as the herring used to be called.
The Dragon The fire breathing dragon is made from steel and sits on the end of the marina watching out for pirates. Helgi Ólafsson designed and built the dragon. He is the epiphany of a real inhabitant of Raufarhöfn. Raufarhöfn stands on the Northeast corner of Iceland and is often referred to as the Dragon area and that is where the idea for the fire breathing steel dragon came from.
The Arctic Henge Similar to ideas about the role of its ancient predecessor, Stonehenge, the Arctic Henge partly works like a huge sundial, aiming to capture the sunrays, cast shadows in precise locations and capture the light between aligned gateways. The Arctic Henge is under construction.
The Arctic Henge is around 50 meters in diameter, with six meter high gates that face the main directions. Between the gates is a high wall with a small opening at the top. Inside the circle stands a 10 meter high column on four pillars. The openings between the pillars look towards the main directions, so for example the midnight sun can be seen from the south gate through the middle column and the north gate. The play of light and shadows will follow the time of day. The openings on the wall will let in the sunrays so when the building is completed the wall will become a sundial. Inside the circle are 68 dwarf stones that stand around a circular dwarf trail. Inside the trail is the polar star pointer, and does exactly what its name says. There you can also find the throne of the sun that is meant to be a place where the traveler can sit down to have his picture taken. Also, a hall of rays, which is a sort of sanctuary between high columns, with one seat, where the guest can empty his mind an renew his energy. An altar of fire and water, that reminds us of the power of the elements, where events can be performed, for examples weddings, oath taking and so forth. The Arctic-Henge has its roots in the innovators Erlingur Thoroddsen’s speculations about the possibility to use endless vistas, where nothing obstructs the horizon, and the midnight sun. The idea to use the dwarf names from the Eddic poem Völuspá (Prophecy of the Seeress) and modernize some aspects of the old world of the Sagas, soon became a part of these speculations. The first version of the idea is from 1998 but in 2004 it was finalized, with allusions to mythology and folklore, designed to interact with the unique natural light. No one has been able to explain the role of the dwarfs in the Völuspá, apart from Austri (East), Vestri (West), Norðri (North) and Suðri (South), who carry the sky. By connecting the names of the dwarfs to the seasons, as for example Bjartur (Bright) Blíður (Sweet) and Svásuður (Gentle) to summer, it is possible to fit the names of the dwarfs to a yearly circle of 72 weeks. The year-circle of the dwarfs becomes a kind of almanac, where each dwarf controls a five day period. All the dwarfs have thus been given a role and they all have their own personalities. This means that the dwarfs can be connected to birthdays and people can find out who is their personal dwarf. www.arctichenge.com
“The village is on a prairie called Melrakkaslétta which is the home to at least 53 bird species”
Melrakkaslétta - the prarie
Birdlife Birdlife is varied on The Prairie, and at least 53
Melrakkaslétta is known for its lakes which are
species lay eggs there every year. Sea and
very good for catching fish and a place where
moorland birds are the kings and queens of The
number of bird species visit each year. The
Prairie. Rock Ptarmigan and Purple Sandpiper are
Icelandic word Slétta stands for prairie, so it often
signature birds. At Rauðinúpur there is a breeding
is just called „The Prairie“ by locals; it is known for
colony of five species of auks, which is also one of
spectacular beauty and amazing solar displays in
two homes for Northern Gannets in the Northern
summer evenings when the sun is going down,
region.
and stops on the horizon to dance for a while. On
The location of The Prairie with it´s fertile beaches
the Prairie is Hraunhafnartangi, the Northernmost
are very important for birds that are migrating to
place in Iceland.
Greenland and North Kanada. The Prairie serves as a refuling station.
Ásbyrgi Canyon 40 minutes by bus from Raufarhöfn. A gigantic, anomalous, horseshoe-shaped rock formation, Ásbyrgi, with its geological wonders such as Hljóðaklettar and Dettifoss forms one of the most admired walking destinations in the country. In Ásbyrgi, you can enjoy hiking trails that offer anything from 30 minute walks to seven hour hiking. Walk across the canyon floor and enjoy the honeycombed basalt rocks, or traverse the cliffs and marvel at the sheer scale of the rock formation itself. The most adventurous routes involve both, by clambering up cliff passages on a series of ropes. According to Norse mythology, the rock formation of Ásbyrgi was formed by the hoof print of Sleipnir, Odin´s eight-legged horse. Odin was the All father, so it makes sense he’d have an impressive steed, but the towering 100m vertical cliffs look like something to ward off the White Walkers in Game of Thrones, with the footprint so large you need a helicopter to photograph it. Other legends say Ásbyrgi is the capital of the hidden people or Huldufólk, Iceland´s answer to elves. Sadly, it’s not only common sense which contests the idea of Sleipnir the giant horse, as geologists hypothesize a slightly different idea. It’s a little less mysterious, but they claim it’s the result of massive glacial flooding, which occurred when a volcano erupted underneath the Vatnajökull ice cap thousands of years ago. When looking at the bizarre shape, this can be a little difficult to believe as well. But, the water didn’t carve the rocks into the current shape, it merely washed the soil away that surrounded them. Along with nesting Ravens and Ptarmigan, there are rarities such as the Arctic Fox and Gyrfalcon in Ásbyrgi. Botnstjörn is a small lake with a population of Green-winged Teal. asbyrgi@vjp.is
Museums S n a r t a s t a ð i r The Northern Þingeyjarsýsla Heritage Museum
T h e
E a r t h q u a k e
C e n t e r
i n
K ó p a s k e r
Located at Snartarstaðir farm, two kilometers from the village of Kópasker, this museum presents a unique collection of local objects showing daily life in the 19th and 20th centuries.
On the 17th of June 2009, the Earthquake Center was formally opened by a group of enthusiastic inhabitants of Kópasker, the neighboring village of Raufarhöfn, 25 minutes away by bus.
There is a wide array of embroidery, woven goods, knitted clothing and many other unique, interesting handicrafts. In addition the museum contains a variety of quite different objects: toys, a firefighting chart, guns, wood carvings, blacksmith tools and much, much more.
The Earthquake Center ‘s goal is first and foremost to remember the Kópasker earthquake that happened in 13th of January 1976 measuring 6,3 on the Richter Scale. The earthquakes epicenter was about 12 kilometers off-shore and the sea turned bubbling hot. It also serves as a center for geology enthusiasts, especially since it´s located on the rift
The museum also contains the library of Helgi Kristjánsson, from the nearby farm of Leirhöfn. Helgi was well known for bookbinding and the leather caps he made.
of two geological plates.
www.husmus.is
www.skjalftasetur.is
Port of Raufarhöfn
useful information
Port of Raufarhöfn facilities Visiting: Port of Raufarhöfn Address: 675 Raufarhöfn Contact person at local port: Harbour Master Mobile: +354 894 2989 Website: www.raufarhofn.is / www.nordurthing.is Email: port@raufarhofn.is / port@nordurthing.is Harbour Authority: +354 - 464 6175 Officials: Port manager, tel: +354 - 464 6176
Raufarhöfn port and Húsavík port are in the same municipality, Nordurthing. Travelling between those two ports takes around two hours by bus and with the Ásbyrgi and another great sceneries on the way. Docking in one port and picking up your passengers in the second one is a great idea with no efforts since both ports have the same Port master
Port location: 66°27’26 N - 15°56’06 W Pilotage Available - Pilot meets vessel on pilot station 66°26’8 N - 15°54’1 W Tugboats: No Pilot channel: 12 Emergency channel: 16
Arctic Circle
Raufarhöfn
ISPS approved: No Tender boats: No Pontoons: Yes Crew facilities: No Largest Vessel to dock: 80 m Supplies: No Waste handling: No Towage: No
43 km Kópasker
Anchorages Available - Outside of harbor area 66°27´00 N – 15°55´30 W Type of bottom: Sand / gravel Depth: 15 m Distance from anchorage to tender pier : 1 nm Accomodation Hafnarbryggja is 95 m in length and draft 7-8 m. According to sea chartlet No restrictions on air draft or beam. Port security officer Yes or DOS
Skjálftasetur Snartastaðir
40 km 64 km Húsavík
Medicl facilities A health care center is in the village
Ásbyrgi
Transportation Buses available, if ordered in advance
Museum
Museum
Grocery shop
Hotel, restaurant
Coffee house, Gallery
Travel agency
Travel organizers / Travel agency
Snartastaðir: Akurgerði 6, Kópasker +354 464 1860
Skjálftasetur- Earthquake center Akurgerði 6, Kópasker +354 465 2105 / +354 845 2454
Verslunin Urð Aðalbraut 35, Raufarhöfn +354 465 1111 / +354 894 1178
Hótel Norðurljós Aðalbraut 2, Raufarhöfn +354 465 1233 / +354 893 8386
Kaupfélagið Raufarhöfn Aðalbraut 24, Raufarhöfn +354 849 3536
Travel North Garðarsbraut 5, Húsavík +354 89 41470
Fjallasýn Rúnars Óskarssonar ehf Smiðjuteigi 7, Húsavík +354 464 3940
safnahus@husmus.is
earthquake@kopasker.is
urd@simnet.is
info@hotelnordurljos.is
klif1974@gmail.com
info@travelnorth.is
fjallasyn@fjallasyn.is
www.husmus.is
www.skjalftasetur.is
www.travelnorth.is
www.fjallasyn.is
This brochure is published by the Port of Raufarhöfn in collaboration with Norðurþing Layout: Röðull Reyr Kárason Photographs: Gaukur Hjartarson, Ólafur Gísli Agnarsson and Ottó Gunnarsson 2018