Barnafossar

Barnafossar (also known as Hraunfossar) is a group of waterfalls in Western Iceland, about 200 km from Reykjavík. They flow out of a lava field, creating a stunning scenery.

Barnafossar in folk mythology

Many Icelandic folk tales have been associated with Barnafossar, the most famous being about two boys from a nearby farm, Hraunsás. One day, the boys parents went with their ploughmen to a church. The boys were supposed to stay at home but as they grew bored they decided to follow their parents. They were going to make a shortcut and crossing a natural stone-bridge that was above the waterfalls. But on their way they felt dizzy and fell into the water and drowned. When their mother found out what had happened, she put a spell on the bridge saying that nobody would ever cross it without drowning himself. A little while later, the bridge was demolished in an earthquake.

The waterfall Barnafoss is in River Skjalfandafljot near the abandoned farm Barnafell in Ljosavatn County. There the river runs in a narrow, and close to 100 m deep canyon. According to legends, young and brave men jumped across its narrowest parts. During prolonged subzero periods, the spray creates an ice arch across the river above the waterfall and sometimes a rope was strung across the river there to quicken this development. Flocks of sheep were driven over that bridge to graze on the Thingey Island between the two branches of the river.