Vestfirdir

Vestfirdir
map
Geographical location
Coordinates	65 ° 44 ′  N , 22 ° 10 ′  W Coordinates: 65 ° 44 ′  N , 22 ° 10 ′  W
Waters 1	Húnaflói , Atlantic Ocean
Waters 2	Breiðafjörður
surface	9 409  km²
Bolungarvík at Ísafjarðardjúp

The Vestfirðir ( German  Westfjords ) encompass a peninsula and region with an area of ​​9409 km² in the north-west of Iceland .

European arctic

Vestfirðir is only connected to the “real” Iceland by a narrow neck of land. The peninsula is surrounded in the northwest by the Denmark Strait (Isl. Grænlandssund ) and in the northeast by the Greenland Sea . The Westfjords make up around 30% of the entire coastline of Iceland.

The eponymous fjords in the west extend deep into the country and jagged the inhospitable area. The land routes through the fjords are very long. There and back trips in one day are hardly possible. In severe weather and snow, the gravel roads are often impassable. Shelters with telephones and food can save lives. Nevertheless, domestic freight transport depends on the roads because there are no ferries . The boat trip is solely the fish processing industry in the remote port cities. Small planes can land on unfired gravel runways.

At the beginning of the 17th century, the Basques were the first European whalers to come to the Westfjords and set up fishing stations there. They used a mixture of Basque and Icelandic to communicate with Icelanders . They were followed by Norwegians , English , French , Dutch , Spanish and Germans .

Important places

The most important places in the region are Ísafjörður and Bolungarvík . Also of importance are Þingeyri , Patreksfjörður , Suðureyri and Hólmavík , Tálknafjörður , Flateyri , Súðavík , Hnífsdalur , Bíldudalur , Reykhólar and Reykjanes .

population

The region is relatively sparsely populated with a total of 7,374 inhabitants (December 1, 2008), which corresponds to less than 3% of the total Icelandic population (around 1900 still around 16%) and a population density of 0.784 inhabitants / km².

The reasons for this extreme rural exodus lie on the one hand in the relatively isolated location of the individual places and on the other hand in the declining demand for labor in the agricultural and fishing industries, which are the main sources of income in the Westfjords. Transport connections are still relatively difficult today (especially in winter). Many roads consist only of gravel roads. And the often rainy or stormy weather hinders air traffic (to Ísafjörður and Gjögur ). The northern Hornstrandir peninsula is even completely uninhabited in winter.

Many people move to the capital region or emigrate to other countries, for example after an avalanche disaster in 1995 (see also: Súðavík ). In the second half of 2008, a direct reversal of the previous trend was discernible for the first time in a long time. While Vestfirðir, like most other regions far from the capital, has seen a more or less significant increase in population, the regions in and around the capital in the south-west, which have been growing until then, are clearly losing inhabitants. It remains to be seen whether this is related to the financial crisis, the banks concentrated in the metropolitan areas and a return to the “old Icelandic way of life”, or whether it is just a temporary phenomenon.

tourism

In the meantime, tourism is being expanded as a new line of business, as the fjords are very scenic. The area near the Dynjandi (also Fjallfoss ), the 100 m highest waterfall in the Westfjords, is not very well developed for tourism . Since 2006, fishing tourism in the Westfjords has increased significantly. The sea area at the exit of the Ísafjarðardjúp ice fjord offers very good opportunities for fishing for cod , halibut , wolffish and sometimes haddock , saithe and redfish .

Division into districts and municipalities

The Vestfirðir region is divided into four districts and two municipalities. The former Vestur-Ísafjarðarsýsla district (code no. 4700) has now been completely incorporated into the Ísafjarðarbær municipality .

Code no.	Independent municipality	Residents 2006	Area [km²]	Administrative headquarters
4100	Bolungarvíkurkaupstaður	905	109	Bolungarvík
4200	Ísafjarðarbær	4,109	2,379	Ísafjörður
Code no.	circle	Residents 2006	Area [km²]	Administrative headquarters
4500	Austur-Barðastrandarsýsla	251	1,090	Patreksfjörður
4600	Vestur-Barðastrandarsýsla	1,229	1,515	Patreksfjörður
4800	Norður-Ísafjarðarsýsla	229	749	Ísafjörður
4900	Strandasýsla	758	3,513	Hólmavík

Division into parishes

The Vestfirðir region is divided into ten municipalities.

Code no.	local community	Residents 2006	Area [km²]	bigger places
4100	Bolungarvíkurkaupstaður	905	109	Bolungarvík
4200	Ísafjarðarbær	4,098	2,379	Ísafjörður , Flateyri, Suðureyri, Þingeyri, Hnífsdalur
Austur-Barðastrandarsýsla
4502	Reykhólahreppur	251	1,090	Reykhólar
Vestur-Barðastrandarsýsla
4604	Tálknafjardarhreppur	292	176	Tálknafjörður
4607	Vesturbyggð	937	1,339	Bíldudalur , Patreksfjörður
Norður-Ísafjarðarsýsla
4803	Súðavíkurhreppur	229	749	Súðavík
Strandasýsla
4901	Árneshreppur	50	707
4902	Kaldrananeshreppur	101	387	Urgency
4908	Bæjarhreppur	100	513
4911	Strandabyggð	507	1,906	Hólmavík

photos

• 

  signpost

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  Landing runway with a trawler's bridge house as a "tower" in Vestfirðir (2002)

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  Peat farm in Dýrafjörður

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  Hrútafjörður

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  Hattardalur

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  Dýrafjörður fjord

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  Ósvör Maritime Museum in Bolungarvík

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Individual evidence

1. ↑ Jónas Blondal

Web links

Commons : Vestfirðir  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Official website (English / Icelandic)