Vestmannaeyjabær

Vestmannaeyjabær Highlights

Vestmannaeyjabær Essentials

Vestmannaeyjabær showcases Iceland's dramatic volcanic history on the island of Heimaey. The Eldheimar museum preserves homes buried during the 1973 Eldfell eruption, while the Eldfell and Helgafell cones offer hiking trails over recent lava fields. Stórhöfði serves as a major puffin nesting site and one of Europe’s windiest locations. The archipelago also includes the UNESCO-listed Surtsey, formed in 1963, and a stave church gifted by Norway. Visitors can climb Heimaklettur for harbor views or explore the Sæheimar Aquarium’s local marine life and rescued puffins.

Vestmannaeyjabær Essentials — Karte

Simisa / CC BY-SA 2.5

A

Eldfell

Eldfell is a volcanic cone just over 200 metres high on the Icelandic island of Heimaey.

Alarichall / CC BY-SA 3.0

B

Heimaey stave church

Heimaey Stave Church is a close replica of Haltdalen stave church situated in the Skansinn area of the harbour of Vestmannaeyjabær on…

óskar elías sigurðsson / CC BY 2.0

C

Stórhöfði

Stórhöfði is a peninsula and the southernmost point of Heimaey, the largest island in the Vestmannaeyjar archipelago, in Iceland.

D

Eldheimar

Volcano museum centered on a house excavated from the ash of the 1973 eruption. Exhibits detail the sudden evacuation of Heimaey and the geological formation of the island of Surtsey.

Martin Kucera / CC-BY-SA

E

Surtur's Island

Surtsey is an uninhabited volcanic island located in the Vestmannaeyjar archipelago off the southern coast of Iceland.

Hansueli Krapf / CC BY-SA 4.0

F

Home Rock

The highest peak in the archipelago at 283 meters. The hiking trail includes several steep wooden ladders and provides panoramic views of the town, harbor, and surrounding islands.

G

Sæheimar Aquarium

Natural history museum and aquarium featuring local fish species, a touch tank, and a collection of taxidermied birds. It is well known for hosting rescued puffins.

H

Ruins

Archaeological remains of a 9th-century farmstead believed to belong to Herjólfur Bárðarson, the first settler of the Westman Islands.

I

Helgafell

Helgafell is an inactive 227 m volcanic cone located on the island of Heimaey in the Vestmannaeyjar archipelago in Iceland.