Reykjanesbær (Iceland)

Reykjanesbær is a municipality on the Southern Peninsula in Iceland. It is made up of the towns Keflavík, Njarðvík, the village of Hafnir and, since 2006, Ásbrú. The municipality was created in 1994 when the inhabitants of the three towns voted to merge them into one. Reykjanesbær is the fifth largest municipality in Iceland, with 15,379 citizens.

Of the three towns which make up the municipality, Keflavík is the largest, while Hafnir is the smallest and some 10 kilometers distant. Keflavík and Njarðvík were originally distinct towns but gradually grew together over the course of the latter half of the 20th century, until the only thing separating them was a single street. The northern side of the street belonged to Keflavík and the southern side to Njarðvík. Since May 2009 the township of Njarðvík has been the location of the Viking World museum. In 2006, when the United States Navy closed Naval Air Station Keflavik, the site was taken over by the development agency Kadeco, and renamed Ásbrú. A university, Keilir, was founded and now Ásbrú houses the campuses of various educational institutions and also businesses, both newly founded and relocated to the site of the air base.

Culture and arts

Reykjanesbær operates many museums and sponsors diverse festivals sll year round.

The Duus museum group of houses at Duusgata 2 – 8 are the arts and cultural centre of Reykjanesbær. There are eight exhibition halls and an information centre for tourists, as well as the Gestastofa (Salon) for the Reykjanes geopark. The Reykjanesbær district museum holds exhibitions in the Duus museum group of houses, and the museum office and the storage facility is at Seylubraut 1.

The Reykjanesbær library is located in the town hall at Tjarnargata 12. There is also the Ráðhúskaffi café.

Rokksafn Íslands – The Icelandic Museum of Rock-and-roll tracks the rock-history of Iceland up to the present, through spoken word, pictures, objects and music. – The Museum of Rock-and-roll is located in the Hljómahöll centre at Hjallavegur 2.

There are various permanent programme-events in Reykjanesbær during the year, a children‘s festival in the spring, the national holiday on 17 June, Ljósanótt – Night of Lights in the autumn and the christmas party during advent.

Nature

Reykjanesbær is part of the Reykjanes geopark and has been certified by Unesco, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation. The geological history of Reykjanes peninsula is considered important and there you can find much evidence of volcanic activity, such as the plate boundaries between Eurasia and North America. It is possible to walk over a bridge between these two continents.

Within the geopark there are many beautiful natural treasures and hiking trails which makes it easier to access these treasuress.

Within Reykjanesbær it is also possible to enjoy the beeauty of the area, e.g. by going along the shoreline, a track that leads from Gróf to Stapi and contains a variety of kowledge about the area.

Points of interest

The Icelandic Museum of Rock 'n' Roll

Naval Radio Transmitter Facility Grindavik

Reykjanesviti

Viking World museum