Þorlákshöfn

Þorlákshöfn
Town
Lutheran Church
Nickname:  Höfnin
Location of the Municipality of Ölfus
Þorlákshöfn Location in Iceland
Coordinates: 63°51′N 21°22′W / 63.850°N 21.367°W / 63.850; -21.367
Country	Iceland
Constituency	South Constituency
Region	Southern Region
Municipality	Ölfus
Government
• Mayor	Elliði Vignisson
Population  (2018)
• Total	1,651
Time zone	UTC+0 (GMT)
Post Code	815
Website	www.olfus.is

Þorlákshöfn (Icelandic pronunciation: [ˈθɔrˌlauksˌhœpn̥]) is a town on the southern coast of Iceland in the Municipality of Ölfus.

The town is named after Saint Thorlak who was a bishop at Skálholt. Its main importance is as a port as it has the only harbour on Iceland's southern coastline between Grindavík in the west and Höfn in the east. The port serves direct weekly cargo ferries to Rotterdam and Hirtshals operated by Faroese Smyril Line. It is also one of two departure points for ferries to the Vestmannaeyjar archipelago. Services include restaurants, tourism, a golf course, motocross field, camping, a sports complex, and a swimming pool. The town has several fish processing enterprises.

History and Culture[edit]

The construction of Þorlákskirkja, a modern Protestant church, was started in 1979.^[1] The church was consecrated in 1985.^[2] There are various historical places near Þorlákshöfn, e.g., a wooden church dating from 1909 on the farm Kotströnd.^[3]

Infrastructure[edit]

Þorlákshöfn has a hotel, a camping area, a golf course, various restaurants, and a sports centre with a public swimming pool. The town hall of the municipality of Ölfus (Ráðhús Ölfuss) is in Þorlákshöfn. There are various shops, a supermarket, primary school, kindergarten, public library, health care centre (Heilsugaelustöð), pharmacy, a gas station, and a car repair shop.

Sports[edit]

As of 2023, local football club Ægir plays in the second tier of Iceland's football pyramid. They play their home games at the Þorlákshafnarvöllur.

Notable people from Þorlákshöfn[edit]

• Bergþóra Árnadóttir Folk Singer
• Birgitta Jónsdóttir Politician, Poet and Activist
• Jón Guðni Fjóluson: Footballer currently playing for IFK Norrköping
• Jónas Sigurðsson: (Jónas Sig) musician

References[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Þorlákshöfn.

63°51′N 21°22′W / 63.850°N 21.367°W / 63.850; -21.367