The history of Vík í Mýrdal
It’s not hard to see why Vík í Mýrdal is such a magnet for tourists – it’s all about location. This attractive village, known for its hillside church, is close to the Mýrdalsjökull glacier, Reynisfjara beach and within easy reach of Seljalandsfoss and Skógafoss waterfalls. It’s also a convenient midway point between Reykjavik and Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon, making it a popular stop on Gray Line Iceland’s tours of the breathtakingly scenic south coast. But before the tourists came, what was its story? In this article, we’ll take a deep dive into the history of Vík í Mýrdal, the southernmost village in Iceland.
Vik’s settled history is as long as Iceland’s
One of the first Norsemen to arrive in Iceland was a man called Hjörleifur Hróðmarsson. He was the blood brother of Ingólfur Arnarson. Ingólfur has a strong claim to be the first person to settle permanently in the country. He came in the wintertime, in the early 9th century, but inclement weather meant that he ended up staying there until the spring. From there, he made his way to Reykjavik, where he made his home in 874AD.
At about the same time, Hjörleifur settled close to Vik, around 10km to the west of today’s village. He lived close to the coast, his farm surrounded by forest which has long since disappeared. But he would meet a tragic end, killed by the Irish slaves he had employed to look after him.
They fled to the nearby Westman Islands but Ingólfur followed them, exacting his revenge as he killed them too. Hjörleifur's burial mound sits on top of Hjörleifshöfði. The ruins of his farm would also once have been visible were it not for the devastating events that took place many centuries later.
The area’s physical geography once presented many challenges
Vík í Mýrdal only grew as a settlement relatively recently. Permanent settlement in this part of Iceland had been problematic enough to put most people off. The lack of a decent harbour meant that any boat attempting to dock had to navigate upriver; the south coast’s severe storms would have easily destroyed any boat left on the beaches.
But the main rivers here, the Skafta and the Kúðafljót, weren’t calm and as such were tricky to follow. Unlike now, when constructing a bridge is commonplace, the abundance of streams also created difficulties for anyone trying to travel overland. Even before Katla kicked off this landscape wouldn’t have been an obvious choice to build a settlement and so the area remained isolated in comparison to other parts of Iceland.
Katla – a hidden threat and once the greatest obstacle to development
Hjörleifur would have known nothing about the potential danger in the location he’d chosen and the event that would one day wash away what was left of his farm. But those who were around a little over a century ago knew they should fear this subglacial volcano and Katla demonstrated this in the most dramatic destructive manner.
Katla has erupted many times in recorded history, but the most notorious event happened in 1918, during an eruption that lasted for almost a month. Then, a huge jökulhlaup (glacial flood) swept through the area, as the heat from the volcanic eruption turned ice into water, washing away everything in its path and depositing massive quantities of sediment in the process. It wasn’t the first jökulhlaup that had occurred – explaining why this area was so sparsely settled – but it’s probably the largest.
A merchant named Bryde shook things up
One of its pioneers was a successful Danish merchant called Johan P.T. Bryde who had been based in the Westman Islands. He already had several stores and warehouses in his portfolio when he earmarked a location in Vik for a new store where he could sell grocery items such as flour, sugar, vegetables and salt. But Bryde didn’t build his new place from scratch.
Instead, he decided to have the Godthaabs outlet in the Westman Islands dismantled and brought over to the mainland. It was reassembled in the western part of the village and named Brydebúð. By the time Bryde died in 1910 the business wasn’t doing so well and was sold not long afterwards, becoming Þorsteinn Þorsteinsson & Co. In 1926, it changed hands again, operating as Kaupfélag Skaftfellinga until 1980. Brydebúð remained a shop for many years but currently houses the Katla Geopark Information Centre.
Growth in the 20th century and the impact of Katla
The lack of a harbour had made Vik a late starter, but after Bryde’s investment, Vik continued to grow steadily. As the population increased, there was demand for a handful more stores. Its agricultural hinterland meant that it also served as a place where farmers from the surrounding area could meet to trade and interact. A couple of slaughterhouses were constructed for their needs.
But Vik was a small, sleepy place and its population remained tiny. It had few facilities. Families had to send their children to board in larger cities for their schooling and, before tourism at least, jobs were limited. Unsurprisingly, some residents chose to move away to larger settlements where there were more opportunities.
The significance of Vik’s hillside church
The first church to be built in Vik didn’t take shape until the 1930s. It perches on a hill overlooking the ocean above the village and has an illustrious pedigree, not least because it was designed by Iceland’s state architect, Guðjón Samúelsson. You may know him as the man behind Hallgrimskirkja in Reykjavik. Working to his drawings, construction on this place of worship began in 1931 and the church was consecrated three years later.
Víkurkirkja has a capacity of 1260 people, which is quite significant in comparison to the population – across the whole of the Mýrdalshreppur area there are fewer than a thousand residents. It’s worth stepping inside this delightful church to admire the stained glass windows which were the work of artist Hrafnhildi Ágústsdóttir. The rest of the church is minimalist, with a beautiful wooden organ built by Katli Sigurjónsson.
It’s thought that the church might serve as an evacuation centre in the event of another Katla-induced jökulhlaup. No one will know if the plan will work until it’s needed, but in theory the church could be high enough to provide a place of refuge if there isn’t sufficient time for residents to make it out of the area.
New opportunities abound in Vík í Mýrdal thanks to the landscapes that surround it
With the influx of tourists, Vík í Mýrdal is finally thriving. Scientific advances mean that our fear of volcanic eruptions and jökulhlaups is receding. Systematic monitoring provides accurate data which is analysed closely. Should Katla show signs of awakening, improvements to infrastructure should facilitate speedy evacuations and although property might be lost or damaged, it’s likely there’d be few human casualties.
Today’s visitors pass through Vík í Mýrdal on their tours of the south coast engrossed in the present and without giving much thought to the past. But the history of this place is fascinating, nevertheless, and gives tourists useful context to help them understand the processes and events which shaped this charming village.