Friday, September 27, 2024

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.


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