page_title: Egilsstaðir
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Egilsstaðir / History
caption_attribution_description: Nederlands: Nielsenshus, nu Café Nielsen, oudste privaat huis in Egilsstaðir, gebouwd in 1944.English: Nielsenshus, now Café Nielsen, oldest private house in Egilsstaðir, built in 1944.
context_page_description: Egilsstaðir is a town in east Iceland on the banks of the Lagarfljót river.
  It is part of the municipality of Fljótsdalshérað, the county seat of Norður-Múlasýsla and the largest settlement of the Eastern Region with, as of 2016, a population of 2,306 inhabitants.
context_section_description: In written accounts, Egilsstaðir is first mentioned in the 15th century as a place for legislative assembly. The nearby river Eyvindará is mentioned in the Saga of the Sons of Droplaug and Saga of the inhabitants of Fljótsdalur.
  Urbanization in Egilsstaðir can be traced to Jón Bergsson (1855–1923), a farmer, who laid the groundwork for increased commerce and services at the Egilsstaðir farm by erecting a large residential building there at the start of the 20th century. The house is still in use as a hotel. Jón bought the farm Egilsstaðr at the close of the 19th century because of its location when he predicted "Crossroads will be here", which proved prescient.
  Along with others, Jón Bergsson also took the initiative to establish the co-operative Kaupfélag Héraðsbúa (KHB) with headquarters there in 1909.
  In subsequent years, bridges were built over Lagarfljót river and Eyvindará  river and a road made over Fagridalur to Reyðarfjörður. Later, the regional headquarters for mail and telephone services were located at Egilsstaðir.
  In  1947 Egilsstaðir was incorporated as a town and a rural jurisdiction Egilsstaðahreppur, with neighbouring jurisdictions Vallahreppur and Eiðahreppur joining the new jurisdiction. The town soon grew and by 1980 the population exceeded 1000. In 1987, the status of the town was upgraded to kaupstaður and renamed Egilsstaðabær, or the town of Egilsstaðir. In early 2011, the population was 2,257 and had increased by 41 percent from the year 2001, when 1,600 were registered there.
  On June 7, 1998 Egilsstaðabær was united with Vallahreppur, Skriðdalshreppur, Eiðahreppur and Hjaltastaðarhreppur under the name Austur-Hérað. Austur-Hérað then became  Fljótsdalshérað in the year 2004.
caption: Nielsenshus, oldest private house in Egilsstaðir, built in 1944
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