Welcome to Siglufjörður

Iceland’s northernmost town, Siglufjörður, now part of Fjallabyggð along with Ólafsfjörður, is a historic fishing town whose fortunes have always been tied to the fishing industry. In 1900, it was a tiny shark fishing village, but it soon grew into one of Iceland’s largest towns and became the undisputed capital of herring fishing in the Atlantic. Although the herring have long since disappeared, the town still bears the distinct imprint of the Herring Era.

Siglufjörður’s harbor has been considered one of the best in Iceland for centuries. As far back as the Middle Ages, English and Dutch fishing and merchant ships favored Siglufjörður as a convenient and sheltered base of operations.

In the 20th century, Siglufjörður became the center of Iceland’s booming herring fishing industry, with its harbor becoming one of the largest and most important in the country. During the herring fishery’s heyday, Siglufjörður was a bustling boomtown, often referred to as the Klondike of the Atlantic, Fishermen’s Eldorado, and Iceland’s Sodom. By mid-century, 500 boats were active in the local herring fishery. In times of bad weather, hundreds of fishing boats would seek refuge, tying to the docks or anchoring in the fjord to wait out the storm. The harbor was so extensive that traveling from the first to the last dock covered 1.5 kilometers, and laid end-to-end, the docks stretched over six kilometers!

With the disappearance of herring from Icelandic waters by 1970, the old wooden docks were replaced by permanent concrete structures. Though the harbor is smaller today, it remains just as protected and as close to the fishing grounds as ever. It is now frequented by large shrimp trawlers and small cod-fishing boats delivering their catch to local processors.

Since 2002, Siglufjörður has welcomed cruise ship passengers to explore this small town at the edge of North Iceland, rich in well-preserved history.

By walking through the Herring Era Museums three buildings one can easily sense the atmosphere of the old times, in the herring girls’ lodgings one can for example find a ball dress, red lipstick, love letter or a knife for gutting the herring. When visiting the Folk Music Centre guests get a good idea about Icelandic folk music when hearing local people singing traditional rhymes and folk songs. Finally, a walk down by the harbour and around town offers guests to visit art galleries, restaurants and cafés, our local church and on a good summer day guests can watch local fishermen at work.