Reykhólar, a tiny village on the north part of the Westfjords, is a place of natural beauty and historical interest. The village is blessed with plenty of geothermal water in the surrounding area.
Culture and industry in Reykhólar
This source of hot water is the key to the success of a seaweed processing factory that serves as Reykhólar’s main industry . The company harvests the abundant seaweed rock grounds at Breiðafjörður and produces pure dried algal meal using the geothermal water.
The original Reykhólar farm – one of the biggest and most valuable farms in Iceland for centuries – was perhaps so prosperous because of the diversity of natural wealth in the area such as fish, mussels, seaweed, and eider down.
The National Museum of Iceland maintains the church at nearby Staður, built in 1864. The church is quite unusual and well preserved. It is one of the first painted wooden churches in Iceland in a time when tar was the usual building preservative.
