Vopnafjörður

**Vopnafjörður** is a veelage an municipality in Northeast Iceland, staundin on a peninsulae in the middle o a muntainous bay (fjord) bi the same name. The main industries o Vopnafjörður are fish processin, agricultur, an tourism an ither services.

## Owerview
Vopnafjörður is kent for its salmon rivers an lairge auries o untouched landscape. Hofsá an Selá are twa o the maist exclusive salmon rivers in Iceland. The salmon rivers an ither attractions in an aroond Vopnafjörður hae drawn numerous foreign visitors, includin airtists, celebrities an politeecians sic as Charles, Prince o Wales, George H. W. Bush, Jack Nicklaus an Queen Paola o Belgium.

Vopnafjörður is on Route 85 an haes an airport wi scheduled flichts tae Akureyri on business days. Ither services include Vopnafjarðarskóli primar schuil wi aroond 90 students, Leikskólinn Brekkubær preschuil, Landsbankinn bank an Heilbrigðisstofnun Austurlands clinic.

HB Grandi, Iceland's lairgest fishin company, is the lairgest employer in the aurie. The company runs a heich-tech freezin plant an a fishmeal factory in Vopnafjörður.

## The meeth
 The Auld Norse keengs' sagas, mair specifically Heimskringla, tell the story o a seafarer who sailed tae Iceland in auncient times. Whan he reached Vopnafjörður, he saw an enormous draigon who guardit the bay, an drove ayebody awa wi fire. The draigon wis follaeed bi a great nummer o lizards an insects.

This draigon wis ane o the fower meethical landvættir, guardians o Iceland. The draigon haes acome the icon o Vopnafjörður, an is pictured on the Coat o airms o Iceland.

## History
The bay o Vopnafjörður wis first settled bi Vikings in the late 9t century CE. The name *Vopnafjörður* leeterally means *Weapon Fjord* or *Weapon Bay*, an comes frae the elkname o ane o the settlers, Eyvindur *vopni*.

Disputes atween local chieftains led tae a nummer o killins in the 10t century. The story o the disputes is tauld in Vopnfirðinga saga, ane o the classic Sagas o Icelanders, a series o epic faimily histories written in the 13t century.

Little is kent aboot the history o Vopnafjörður efter Iceland lost its unthirldom tae Norawa in 1264. Foreign mechants sailed tae Vopnafjörður in the early modren age, an it wis ane o three tred ports in East Iceland in the 17t an 18t centuries.

The Dens tradin company Ørum & Wulff haed extensive operations in Vopnafjörður in the 19t century. A local cooperative, Kaupfélag Vopnfirðinga, wis establisht in 1918, an wis ane o Vopnafjörður's lairgest employers throuoot the 20t century, but filed for bankruptcy in 2004.

In the late 19t century, poor fermers wur forcit tae muive intae the muntains abuin Vopnafjörður, whan thay coud nae langer afford livin on densely-populatit laund in the lowlands. For several decades, mony faimilies livit in the heichlands, experiencin extreme hardship. The heichland ferms inspired the settin o the novel *[[Independent People]]* bi Halldór Laxness. The beuk helpit him win the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1955.

Modren infrastructur, includin roads, harbors an brigs, wis first introducit in Vopnafjörður in the early 20t century. The day, new infrastructur is o heichest staundarts.

### Emigration tae Americae
Vopnafjörður wis the lairgest port o Icelandic emigration tae Americae in the late 19t an early 20t centuries. Thoosans o North Americans hae ancestors who livit in Vopnafjörður.

## Geografie
Vopnafjörður is locatit in Northeast Iceland. The Vopnafjörður aurie coastline is characterisit bi the Tangi peninsulae, coastal rocks, islets, coves, river mooths, an black saund beaches.

Durin the Ice Age (up tae 10,000 years ago) a lairge glacier covered the bay. The Ice Age Glacier carvit the diverse muntains an rock formations that characterize the aurie. Efter the Ice Age, the laund rose as the hivy load o the glacier fell awa, an began tae leuk as it daes the day.

The lairgest river tae run intae the bay is Hofsá, ane o the best salmon fishin rivers in the kintra. Krossavík Muntains at , touer ower the bay.

The veelage o Vopnafjörður is locatit on the Tangi peninsulae in the middle o the bay. Surroondin ferms reach far intae Hofsárdalur an Vesturárdalur valleys, an tae the northren coast o the bay.

## Climate
Despite its extreme north Atlantic location, Vopnafjörður is hintle wairmer than maist locations at a seemilar latitude. Temperaturs vera rarely drop belaw −10&nbsp;°C (14&nbsp;°F) in the winter. This is acause the Icelandic coastal wather in winter is moderatit bi the wairm watters o the Guwf Stream. Simmers are ceul, wi temperaturs whiles reachin 20&nbsp;°C (68&nbsp;°F).

## Admeenistration
The local govrenment is the municipality o *Vopnafjarðarhreppur*, which is govrened bi the municipal cooncil. The cooncil haes seiven members who are electit in direct elections bi the residents o Vopnafjordur for fower-year terms. Onyane who is 18 years or aulder an haes his or her legal domicile registered in Vopnafjordur haes the richt tae pairticipate in the local elections. The last municipal elections wur held in Mey 2010.

## Demografics
On 1 Januar 2011, the population o Vopnafjörður wis 668, o which 529 livit in the veelage, an 139 in the landwart pairt o the municipality. 350 wur males an 318 females. 146 wur unner 18 years o age.

The tot population o Vopnafjörður wis 987 in 1901, 677 in 1950, 908 in 1990, an 789 in 2000.

## Sports
Einherji is Vopnafjörður's sports team. Soccer is the maist popular sport.

## Main sichts
*Bustarfell, fowk museum
***Gljúfursárfoss**, watterfaw on Vopnafjörður's soothren coast.
***Highland farms**, the settin that inspired Nobel Prize-winnin author Halldór Laxness' novel Independent People.
***Ljótsstaðir**, bairnheid hame o Gunnar Gunnarsson.
***Múlastofa**, a museum aboot the lives an airt o Vopnafjörður-born muisickers an playwrichts Jón Múli Árnason an Jónas Árnason.

## Fowk frae Vopnafjörður
*Björgvin Guðmundsson, componer
*Gunnar Gunnarsson, writer
*Linda Pétursdóttir, businesswumman an Miss Warld 1988
*Pálmi Gunnarsson, pop sangster
*Sigurður Þórarinsson, geologist an leericist

## References

## Freemit airtins
*