Ólafsvík

Ólafsvík
—  Town  —
Location of the Municipality of Snæfellsbær
Ólafsvík Location in Iceland
Coordinates: 64°53′N 23°42′W / 64.883°N 23.7°W / 64.883; -23.7
Country	Iceland
Constituency[1]	Norðvesturkjördæmi
Region[2]	Vesturland
County	Snæfellsnes- og Hnappadalssýsla
Municipality	Snæfellsbær
Population (2011)
– Total	1,010
Time zone	GMT (UTC+0)
Post Code

Ólafsvík is a fishing town on the western end of the Snæfellsnes peninsula in Iceland.

As of 1 January 2011 (2011 -01-01)^[update], it had 1,010 inhabitants. It is situated in the county of Snæfellsnes- og Hnappadalssýsla, in the region of Vesturland and it is the administrative centre of the municipality of Snæfellsbær.

Overview

Because of its situation at the entrance of the fjord Breiðafjörður, the town was the first town in Iceland to receive a license from the Danish king to do commerce. This event took place in the 17th century. The's economy is based on fishing industry and commerce, as well as on services for farmers in the area.

The nature around Ólafsvík affords numerous recreation opportunities, such as hiking trails, long sandy beaches, and snowmobiling on the volcano Snæfellsjökull.

Near Ólafsvík is the town of Hellissandur, where the tallest structure of Western Europe, the Gufuskálar radio mast, (height: 412 metres) is situated.

See also

• Volcanism in Iceland
• List of settlements in Iceland

References

1. ^ Political division
2. ^ Mainly statistical division

External links

• Ólafsvík website
• Ólafsvík photo

Coordinates: 64°53′39″N 23°42′39″W / 64.89417°N 23.71083°W / 64.89417; -23.71083