Sandgerdi, a friendly fishing town on the western
side of Reykjanes peninsula. Few minutes from the Keflavķk International
Airport - Leifur Eiriksson.
The town of Sandgerši is located on the western
side of Reykjanes peninsula, Iceland, with the Leifur Eirķksson International Airport
in a municipality's boundaries. The west coast faces the open
ocean. The coast line is relatively low and sandy, but dangerous reefs lie
just off the coast. The Mišnesheiši moor rises up from the grown lowland
by the coast.
On December 3, 1990, Sandgerši attained town rights, and is as of now, the
youngest town in Iceland. Inhabitants number of Sandgerdi is close to 1400.
The community began estblishing itself around the turn of the century when
motor-boats were being introduced for fishing in Iceland. Today, Sandgerši
is one of the country's major fishing communitites. Rich fishing-grounds
are found just off the coast of Sandgerši, and in recent years good harbour
facilities have been installed in Sandgerši. In 1986 the community celebrated
its 100th anniversary. For that occasion, a monument in honour of seamen
was inaugurated. The monument, Įlög, is made by sculptor Steinunn Žórarinssdóttir,
and is to remind us of how small and insignificant human existance can be
when dealing with the powerful ocean.
Lots to do in the town of Sandgerdi, among others Bird-watching,
golfing, see historical significant places and go swimming.
In the northern part of town is Sandgeršistjörn pond, where hundreds of
migratory birds gather each spring. The town's oldest house, after which
the town of Sandgerši was named, stands by the pond. The house was erected
in 1883.
On the coast-line, north and south of Sandgerši, there are many beautiful
spots to visit, and some of them have historical significance. By Hafurbjarnastašur,
between Garšur and Sandgerši, there are graves from pre-christian times,
which were discovered in 1947. The graves are considered a very important
discovery, and remains from one of the graves are now on display at the
National Museum of Iceland. In this same area there is a good 9-hole golfcourse.
Check out the Fraedasetur, local
restaurants, art galleries and the famous candle factory.
There are lots of places to visit now for
example The Nature Center called Fraedasetur. It“s a museum with birds
and few sea aquarium. There are two restaurants in Sandgerdi. One is a
pizzaria called Mamma Mia and the other is called Vitinn. One the same
street is is a art gallery and candle factory, Jöklaljós were it is
possible to see how th candle is made. In the norhern part of town is
possible to rent a summerhouse.
There is a lot to see on the route south to Stafnes. Approximately 6 km
from Sandgerši is the church of Hvalneskirkja. The church was built out
of stone in 1887, and one of Iceland's most cherished poets, Hallgrķmur
Pétursson, served there as a priest for a number of years. Inside the
church is the tombstone of Pétursson's daughter, Steinunn. The tombstone
was found in a walling and is thought to have been made by the poet
himself.
Location map