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Towns : Eyrarbakki

The village of Eyrarbakki stands on the south coast, not far from the mouth of the river Ölfusá. For centuries, the harbor at Eyrarbakki was the main port in the south of the country, and Eyrarbakki was the trading center for the whole of the southern region extending from Selvogur in the west to Lómagnúpur in the east. It also once closely lost the vote to Reykjavik of becoming Iceland’s capital, which would have made things look entirely differently there today .

By about 1925, however, Eyrarbakki importance as a trading centre had diminished. The latter part of the 19th century saw a great increase in the number of oared fishing boats. In fact, although trade and fishing were the main occupations in Eyrarbakki, the natural harbor conditions were not good, and after the bridging of the river Ölfusá near Eyrarbakki, the harbor fell into disuse.

Eyrarbakki has often been threatened by tidal flooding. One of the worst occurred in 1799 and caused extensive damage. After that, work began on building flood barriers, and by the beginning of this century they extended around the whole municipal area. These barriers were damaged in floods in 1975, 1977 and 1990, but have since been repaired and improved. The current population of Eyrarbakki is 530.

The oldest building in the village, Húsið ("The House"), dates from 1765 and is the oldest preserved timber dwelling house in Iceland. The Árnes Region's Folk Museum is also located in "The House".

The church in Eyrarbakki was built in 1890; its altarpiece was painted by Queen Louise of Denmark, wife of King Christian IX, great-great-grandfather of Queen Margaret II of Denmark, Queen Elisabeth II of England and King Harold V of Norway. The primary school was established in 1852 and is the oldest in the country. The main enterprises in Eyrarbakki are an aluminum frying-pan factory, fish-processing plants, a quaint restaurant and the country's prison.

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