Heimaey
Heimaey is the largest island in the Vestmannaeyjar cluster, approximately 4 nautical miles off the south coast of Iceland. It is the only island in Vestmannaeyjar that is populated, and currently there are around 4,500 inhabitants.
History
Oldest tales
In Landnáma it is said that when Ingólfur Arnarson, the first settler in Iceland had spent a winter at Ingólfshöfði, and went west in search of his "Öndvegissúlur" (somewhat like Totem poles, that were ritualistically dumped into the sea and let float to shore. Where they came ashore, there the viking in question would build his farm.), and found upon Hjörleifshöfði his brother, Hjörleifur, dead and his slaves missing. Out at sea he could see boats going towards a small group of islands, and likewise he set off after them.
The slaves in question had been abducted from Ireland, and were called westmen (Vestmenn), since Ireland was the most western part of the known world at that time (c.a. 840). The slaves came ashore in Heimaey and took shelter upon the mountains and anywhere else they thought they might be safe, but alas, Ingólfur slaughtered them all, unknowingly creating names for various places in the process - for example "Dufþekja", an area on Heimaklettur, Heimaey's highest mountain (263m), is named after the slave Dufþakur, who is said to have thrown himself off Heimaklettur at that point - rather taking his own life that to let Ingólfur take it.
First settlers
The first person said to have built a farm in Heimaey was known as Herjólfur Bárðason. He apparently built his farm in 1627, three Algerian pirate ships raided many towns on the south coast of Iceland, most notably Grindavík and Vestmannaeyjar. In Grindavík townspeople could flee into the lava field of Reykjanes and hide indefinitely, however Heimaey, being so remote and secluded, was hit rather badly. The invasion fleet was called "Turkish" by Icelanders, simply because of a lack of cultural distinction between Islamic countries. Many heroic stories exist of the people who survived the invasion, most notably Guðrún Símónardóttir, better known as Tyrkja-Gudda (Turkish-Gudda), who was taken from her home at Stakkagerði on Heimaey to a slave market in Algeria. From there she bought her way back to Iceland through Tunisia, Italy and Denmark - Iceland was then under Danish rule. Upon returning to Iceland she married Icelandic poet Hallgrímur Pétursson, to whom Hallgrímskirkja in Reykjavík is honoured.
Eldfell
On the 22nd of January 1973 at around one in the morning a volcanic eruption of the mountain Eldfell began on Heimaey. During the night the 5000 inhabitants of the island were evacuated, mostly by fishing boats, as almost the entire fishing fleet was in dock. During the eruption half of the town was crushed and the island grew a great deal, however only one fatality could be directly or indirectly attributed to the eruption, and that was the death of a man who had broken into the chemist's store to acquire drugs and was suffocated by toxic fumes.
Present day
Currently Vestmannaeyjar is the home to around 4,500 humans, 2,000,000 puffins, and many millions of other birds.
See also
Volcanoes of Iceland
Schools in Vestmannaeyjar:
