Hiking Up the Eldfell Volcano on Heimaey Island

We start up from town toward the two volcanos just a short ways away, first up some steps, then along paths through the lava fields.  Along the way, signs indicate where buildings once stood that were destroyed in the Eldfell volcano eruption on January 23, 1973 at 1:50 am.  The layer of ash that settled on the town was up to 4 meters (13 feet) thick.

Starting up, leaving town

Here was the Hotel Berg and the bakery

Path through the lava fields

This way to the volcano

Looking back at town

Town before and after the eruption

After reviewing the historical information, we continue our hike up through the lava fields toward the peak.

Continuing up

As we get higher, we spot some of the hunting cabins on the nearby islands that make up the Westman Islands.

Remote hunting cabin

Along the way, we pass the gravestone of Rev. John Thorsteinsson the martyr, who was killed trying to protect his people from pirates.  The gravestone was saved from the lava and returned to the site after the eruption, but is now several dozen meters above the actual grave.

Gravestone

View of the mainland

We descend from the peak along a different path and come across markers indicating the location of other houses and businesses destroyed by the eruption.

Descending

Former house locations

This is quite a stark landscape and the hike and historical information give us a good picture of the tragic events surrounding the eruption in 1973.

Heimaey Island, Iceland

The first stop outside Reyjkavik on our cruise around Iceland (travelling counter clockwise around the island) is Heimaey Island, home of the Eldfell Volcano and the Helgafell Volcano (last eruptions in 1973).  Both volcanos are now about 700 feet (213 meters) high and offer great views of the area.  We enter the harbor and tie up at the pier, alongside many fishing boats.

Heimaey Island translates to "Home Island" as it is the only inhabited island in the Westman Islands (although reportedly 6 of the 15 other islands have single hunting cabins).

Approaching the harbor

Passing a fish farm on the way in

In the channel

Geothermal power station at the harbor

Our neighbors at the dock

Painting of the town

We wander into town and stroll the streets of this delightful location.  Just off the dock, we read the history of the harbor:  the first dock was built in 1907, allowing fishermen to unload their catch without having to scramble over rocks and mud.  The docks were expanded in 1911 and 1926 when several fish processing plants were built nearby.  At the edge of the harbor is a rowboat originally used to get from shore to the fishing boats moored in the harbor.  Later, the rowboat was repurposed as an emergency rescue boat. 

Rowboat

Our ship alongside the dock

Wandering through town

As in Reykjavik, there is intriguing, often whimsical, artwork on the houses, walls, fences, and streets.

Artwork on the streets

The park has a small bandstand and a colorful play area that we see at almost every town we visit on this trip.

In the park

We descend to the harbor entrance, then return along the water to the docks.

Harbor entrance

Other ships leaving

View of the mainland in the distance

The Stave Church at the harbor entrance was a gift from the Norwegian nation in the year 2000 to commemorate 1000 years of Christianity in Iceland.  The church is a replica of a church in Norway originally built in 1170.  Nearby, the remains of a small fort guard the harbor entrance.

Stave church

Fort watching over the entrance

The fort likely saw some use as Heimaey Island was a favorite target for raiders, including the English throughout the 15th century and Algerian pirates in the 1600s.

Next to explore the volcanos up the hill.