Historical and Cultural sites in Djúpivogur

Langabúð cafe is located in the oldest building in Djupivogur, dating back to 1790. The cafe offers a wide variety of homemade goods such as soups, bread with salmon and smoked lamb, cappuccino, espresso, latte, and delicious cakes. The menu has a variety of vegan and gluten free choices. You can also try out a selection of Icelandic beers and spirits. Langabúð is Djupivogur's cultural center, housing museums and exhibitions, and is the corner stone in the town's culture. The museums exhibit the life and work of Rikardur Jonsson, a sculptor and artist, and a memorial of the politician Eysteinn Jonsson and his wife, Solveig Eyjolfsdottir. The building's loft houses a heritage museum. The cafe offers a wide variety of homemade goods such as soups, bread with salmon and smoked lamb, cappuccino, espresso, latte, and delicious cakes. The menu has a variety of vegan and gluten free choices. You can also try out a selection of Icelandic beers and spirits. Hours of Operation: Summer: May 15th – September 15th, Every day: 11:00-18:00 Winter: Please contact us for opening hours. Admission: ISK 500

Teigarhorn, close to Djúpivogur, is known for remarkable geological formations and interesting history of industry and culture. Teigarhorn is a nature reserve, and part of it is a natural monument. There is year-round ranger at Teigarhorn, and development work in the area is being done in harmony with nature. Teigarhorn is one of the most significant mining sites of zeolites in the world. Among the types of zeolite stones found at Teigarhorn are schoolite, stilbite, epistilbite, mordenite, laumontite and heulandite. There are also other minerals, such as seladonite, opal, chalcedony, rock crystal, calcite and Iceland spar. Zeolites from Teigarhorn have been used in various geological studies for more than 200 years. These include descriptions of crystal forms, chemical composition, internal structure of crystals and optics, some of which are among the first descriptions of the rocks in question. Samples from Teigarhorn were sold to museums around the world in the second half of the 18th century, but since 1976 the main mining places have been protected as natural monuments. Weywadthús, at Teigarhorn, was built by Níels P.E. Weywadt in the years 1880-1882. He was a store manager in the Örum and Wulff store in Djúpivogur. Weywadthús has been part of the National Museum of Iceland since 1992. Níels' daughter, Nicoline Weywadt, was the first Icelandic woman to study photography and operated a photography studio in Teigarhorn. Nicoline is also believed to have owned the first sewing machine in East Iceland.

Tankurinn is an old fish oil tank reformed into an exhibition space for art and music. It is always open, and whether there is an installation there when you visit, you should at least go inside and enjoy the marvelous reverb. 

Hans Jonathan (1784-1827) was born into slavery on St. Croix in the Danish Virgin Islands in the Caribbean. His mother, Emilia Regina, was a house slave from West Africa; his father was white, probably a Dane. At age seven, Hans Jonathan was sent to Copenhagen to join the household of his owners, the Schimmelmann family. He played a heroic role in the Battle of Copenhagen in 1801, imagining he would become a free man. Widow Schimmelmann, however, took him to court and had his enslavement confirmed. Hans Jonathan then decided to take his freedom and escape to Iceland soon after the legal verdict. He settled at Djúpivogur where he worked as a trader at the Löngubúð store, later becoming a peasant. Icelanders embraced the newcomer, and nothing indicates that he would be shunned because of the color of his skin or his origin in slavery. He married a respected local girl, Katrín Antoníusdóttir. Their two children now have one thousand descendants. As far as we know, Hans Jonathan was the first black person to settle in Iceland. His biography, The Man Who Stole Himself: The Slave Odyssey of Hans Jonathan (authored by Gísli Pálsson), appeared in 2016 (also published in Icelandic, Danish, and French). A memorial sculpture, "Freedom," has been raised at Djúpivogur in his honor, echoing international protests against the use of skin color in refuting human rights. The memorial is the work of renowned Icelandic artist Sigurður Guðmundsson. The Government of Iceland, the inhabitants of Djúpivogur, Fiskeldi Austurlands, and numerous individuals generously financed its construction. Prime Minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir revealed the memorial at a ceremony in Djúpivogur on July 10th, 2021

Eggin í Gleðivík (the eggs in Merry Bay) is an outdoor artwork by artist Sigurður Guðmundsson (b. 1942). The artwork has 34 replicas of eggs of nesting birds that nest in the vicinity of Djúpivogur and reflects the strong connection that Djúpivogur has with nature. The work is especially for the site. The eggs stand on concrete pillars that previously supported a landing pipe between the pier and the smelter. Eggin í Gleðivík are a popular tourist attraction and has become one of Djúpivogur´s landmarks.

Bóndavarðan - The farmers ´cairn stands high on the ridge just seawards of the village. The view from Bóndavarðan cairn is great! it may have been first erected by farmers keeping watch towards the sea after a severe raid by North African pirates in 1627. There is a view indicator up the cairn.

According to legend the mound marks the spot where the pastor of Háls and the deacon of Hamar fought to the death. Both were buried at the site, and that is the origin of the name Djáknadys (Deacon’s Burial Mound). Tradition requires every traveller, on first passing by Djáknadys, must throw a pebble or stone onto the mound: one for him/herself, and one for every horse or dog accompanying them. If they fail to do so they will lose their way. Another version of the tradition is that travellers must place three stones on the mound. An old verse on the subject says: To quickly dismount and fling a stone over the aged deacon brings good fortune along the road. Please treat this protected heritage site with respect and care. Do not remove stones from the mound and do not dispose of refuse under stones. 

The farm Þvottá is the southernmost farm in Álftafjörður. Around the year 1000 the renowned Saga personality Hallur Þorsteinsson, or Síðu-Hallur, lived there. He received the priest and missionary Þangbrandur, who spent the winter with him. Síðu-Hallur and his whole household were baptized in the river by the farm and since then it was named River Þvottá (The Wash River). The farm gets its freshwater supplies from the so-called Þangbrandur Well, where the missionary probably held services at St. Michael’s Mass with the people of Þvottá attending the day before they were baptized. A ruin by the well was declared inviolate. Þvottá was a church site until 1754 and a parsonage for a long time. The old cemetery is still visible. Mt Mælifell (487m) is closer to the sea and north of it are Sellönd (Summer Pastures). The whole area is rather colourful because of the rhyolite intrusions and quite a few basaltic dykes decorate the landscape. These formations were created by the ancient and extinct central volcano, which has now mostly disappeared under the Álftafjörður Bay. Traces of several minerals were discovered in the area, gold, platinum etc. By Þvottaá, there is a monument to the adoption of Christianity and the area is vell suited for outdoor activities.