Vatnsdalur
Coordinates: 65 ° 25 ′ N , 20 ° 17 ′ W
The Vatnsdalur is a valley in the north of Iceland . It is located south of Blönduós and southeast of the Hóp in the Austur-Húnavatnssýsla district. The valley lies between the mountains Víðidalsfjall and Vatnsdalsfjall . It's about 25 km long.
Lake Flóðið
In Vatnsdalur is an elongated lake of 2.6 km². It is a natural reservoir that was created when the Bjarnastaðaskríða landslide fell from Vatnsdalsfjall in 1720 . Before that, there was a grassy wetland with small lakes and ponds, the names of which are still known.
The mounds of the Vatnsdalshólar
Three groups of sights are considered innumerable in Iceland: the lakes of Arnarvatnsheiði , the islands of Breiðafjörður and the mounds of Vatnsdalur, called Vatnsdalshólar .
These hills are explained by frequent landslides from Mount Vatnsdalsfjall. Those of the years 1545 and 1720 were particularly striking. 14 people were killed in the former. The last major witnessed landslide in the area occurred in 1811 and destroyed a church. Most of these hills, called Vatnsdalshólar , which cover a total area of approx. 40 km², were created, however, also by landslides, before the time of the conquest .
Vatnsdæla saga
The Vatnsdæla saga , one of the Icelandic sagas, takes place in this valley . She tells of Ingimundur, a land taker from Norway and his sons.
They were the first to settle in the area and were impressed by the amount of fresh grass and the beauty of the rolling hills.
Icelandic archaeologists have identified the location of his farm and the location of several other farms found in the saga.
Last execution in Iceland
In the northernmost part of the Vatnsdalshólar, near the three nearby hills Þrístapar , north of the ring road , the last execution in Iceland took place on January 12, 1830.
These were Friðrik Sigurðsson and Agnes Magnúsdóttir , who were punished for the murder of Natan Ketilsson and Pétur Jónsson at Illugastaðir on the Vatnsnes peninsula .
The story has undergone a number of artistic processing. For example, Þorgeir Þorgeirsson wrote the novel Yfirvaldið and in 1996 the film "Agnes" was made under the direction of Egill Eðvarðsson .
See also
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Íslandshandbókin. 1. bindi. 1989, p. 346