Akureyri, also known as the capital of the north in Iceland, is the fourth largest municipality in Iceland. Reykjavík, Hafnarfjörður and Kopavogur are larger. This town of about 18,500 people is small in comparison to Reykjavík, but it is bustling with life.
Akureyri’s History
This area that Akureyri is located was originally settled in the 9th century by a Norse Viking named Helgi magri (the slim) Eyvindarson. However, you don’t see the name Akureyri mentioned in any court records until 1562. That year a woman was sentenced there for committing adultery. During the 17th century, Danish merchants set up their trading operations in the town during summer because the town has an amazing natural harbor and the surrounding area is quite fertile.
Even though, this area was being used by merchants and people were living there, it wasn’t granted its municipal charter by the Danish king until 1786. This act by the king was intended to help the town grow into an urban area. However, it was deemed unsuccessful because the population didn’t grow beyond the 12 people that lived there. In 1836, Akureyri lost its municipal status, but did get it back in 1862. The town’s great port conditions and agricultural region helped it to grow its population.
Geography and Climate
Most people assume that the farther north you go in Iceland, the colder the weather. That is not necessarily the case for Akureryi. It is located at 65 degrees North and 18 degrees West. Even though, the Arctic Circle is only about 60 kilometers north of the town, the climate there is still quite mild and is classified as subarctic. Surprisingly, the temperatures in the summer can reach up to 25 degrees Celsius or 77 degrees Fahrenheit. The average temperature in the winter is 0 degrees Celsius or 32 degrees Fahrenheit. The relatively warm climate, at this latitude, allows for the botanical gardens to flourish without greenhouses.
It is in one of the longest fjords in the country and is surrounded by beautiful mountains that reach between 1000 – 1500 meters high. The high mountains shield the town from strong winds. Akureyri is quite a cloudy place and it barely sees any sunshine between November and February. However, it has much lower precipitation than in the south of Iceland. On average, it gets about ⅕ the amount of rain that Vík in Mýrdál, the popular town in the south, gets throughout the year.
World War II
Akureyri was one of the three air bases used by the Norwegian-British squadron that flew Northrop N-3PB bombers during World War II. The other two air bases were in Reykjavík and Budareyri. The squadron flew from Akureyri from April 25th, 1941 until April 5th, 1943. They also operated Catalina flying boats from the town. These boast protected convoys between the U.S., the U.K., and Murmansk in northern Russia from attack by German submarines.
Commercial Business in Akureyri
As I mentioned in the All Things Iceland podcast episode about Halldór Laxness, many Icelandic people started moving from the countryside in Iceland to urban areas. While commerce and service industries were the most popular employers in the Akureyri in the 20th century, the fishing industry started to dominate in the early 21st century.
As I had mentioned earlier in this episode, Akureryi has amazing port conditions. What I mean by that is that their harbour remains ice free all year long, which is incredible and convenient for fishing merchants. This town is home to two out of the five largest fishing companies in Iceland. The ice free port certainly has played a role in that. Additionally, the largest brewery in Iceland Vílfilfell and Sjúkrahús Akureyrar, one of the two major hospitals in Iceland, are in Akureyri.
How To Get to Akureyri
If you are planning to visit Akureyri, I highly recommend it. I had the pleasure of going there in December and it was absolutely lovely. You might be wondering what is the best way to get there, and the good news is that you have a few options.
If you own or rent a car in Iceland, you can easily drive there on route 1, the main road that goes around the country. It takes about five hours to get there by car from Reykjavík. However, you can take a flight, a bus or get there by boat. The town is home to one of the four international airports in the country. Air Iceland Connect has several flights per day from Reykjavík to Akureyri, and it only takes about 30 minutes.
During the summer, you will see cruise ships docked there and a decent amount of tourists roaming around. Bus number 57 operated by Strætó goes from Reykjavík to Akureyri. SBA Norðurleið also has buses between these two places in the summer.
What To See & Do in Akureyri
Whether you go in the summer or winter, there are plenty of things for you to do. I have split up my lists of what to do into summer, winter and all year, because I think it is the best way to help you plan your visit.
During summer you can:
- Enjoy the beautiful hiking trails in the area
- Go to the Akureyrarvaka festival held in August each year. It is the culmination of the Summer Festival, Listasumar, that runs from mid June to the end of August
- Visit Hrísey island, which is nicknamed the pearl of Eyjafjörður. About 120 people live there. It is a bird sanctuary because no natural predators live there
- Walk around the stunning Botanical Garden in Akureyri. It is home to 400 indigenous plants to Iceland and more than 7500 foreign ones
- Go whale watching
- Golf at the Jaðar golf course. It is the most northerly 18-hole golf course in the world
- Walk, hike, mountain bike or picnic in Kjarnaskogur. This forest is south of Akureyri and is Iceland’s most visited forest. Over the last 50 years, over 1 million species of trees have been planted there.
- Take a step back in time at the medieval trading weekend at Gásir in July. According the festival website,
“The villagers are dressed in medieval costume and can be seen demonstrating medieval crafts; spinning wool, wood carving, tanning, blacksmithing and much more. Shows of medieval sword fighting are held each day and members of the public can join in with medieval ball games and archery.”
During winter, you can:
- Visit the jólagarðurinn or Christmas Garden. Granted, it is available to visit in the summer, but I feel it is more magical and interesting in the winter
- Go skiing at Hlíðarfjall. It is a popular destination for Icelanders to go during the colder season
- Go cross-country skiing on nearby trails
- Hunt for the Northern Lights
- There is even a dog sledding tour
- Witness or participate in AK Extreme. The event is described as the following on their website
“AK Extreme is a four day festival with events scheduled at Mt. Hlíðarfjall and in downtown Akureyri.For the main event we construct a terrifying Big Jump set up out fifteen shipping containers from Eimskip, smack dab in the middle of town.This winter, alongside the traditional BURN Jib Session in downtown Akureyri, we have the Origo Downhill Competition at Mt. Hlíðarfjall on Thursday. Last year’s edition saw over 7000+ spectators turn out to enjoy the sketchy huck-fest that is the Eimskip Big Jump competition in the center of Akureyri.”
To participate in such an event, you have to be invited. It normally takes place in April.
All year, you can:
- Visit the town’s museums and historical buildings
- Bathe in the local swimming pool
- Drink beer from the local breweries Víking and Kaldi
- Visit the Akureyri church
- Eat delicious food made with local ingredients
- Relax in a beer bath
- Be Icelandic and have amazing ice cream at Brynja ice cream shop – they even have vegan ice cream!
- Listen to awesome tunes at Græni Hatturinn (the Green hat), the place for local music in the area
- Drive out to Mývatn and Goðafoss waterfall to enjoy the spectacular nature there.
- Enjoy a stroll around Pollurinn, a pond south of the city center that is home to swans and ducks. It is also where many of Akureyri’s oldest homes are. It is quite a picturesque location.
- Explore one of the largest libraries in the country
- See a show or exhibit at the Hof Cultural Center
This is not an exhaustive list, but it is certainly a great start for planning a visit during any time of the year.
Random Fact about Iceland
Akureyri recently changed its name. As of January 24th, 2019, the town’s official name is Akureyrarbær, or Town of Akureyri. It used to be Akureyrarkaupstaður, which is essentially Akureyri buying place. It was given the latter name by the Danish king because it was selected as a official place for merchant business. The funny part is that everyone has been calling the town Akureyrarbær for a long time but it is now officially the name. Also, this won’t have an effect on anyone visiting because most people just call the town Akureyri when speaking in English.
Icelandic word of the day
Akureyri – sandbank field
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