Viðey Island

Viðey (Wood) Island is a small but potent historical site only 1km northeast of Reykjavik, just clear of Sundahöfn. In 1225 a wealthy Augustinian monastery was founded here; it kept the coffers full by imposing a cheese tax on a massive area of land round about. During the 16th-century Reformation, the monastery was sacked by Danish Lutherans and all its riches taken. Incensed by this cultural and religious outrage, Iceland’s last Catholic bishop, Jón Arason, made a stand. He seized the island in 1550 and built the fort Virkið to protect it, but he was captured and then beheaded in November that year.
The summer-only Viðey ferry took a mere seven minutes to skip across to the island from Reykjavík. Ron caught the 1pm one, and walked around the island until 4, getting quite wet while doing so. The whole island is crisscrossed with walking paths. A good map at the harbour shows which paths are which. The whole island is great for birds (30 species breed here). The return fare was Ikr 750. He explored the remains of Virkið and the weathered schoolhouse, all that's left of an old Village called Sundbakki on the island's southern tip. The island is also the site of Iceland's oldest original building, Viðeyjarstofa, built from basalt and sandstone in 1755 (and rebuilt after a fire in 1764) to be the residence and weaving shed of local sheriff Skúli Magnússon (1711-94), the founder of the modern city of Reykjavík. It’s now a pub. Twenty years later saw the consecration of Iceland's second-oldest church, which still has its original interior fittings. Here, life slows right down – the only sounds are the wind, the waves, and golden bumblebees buzzing among the tufted vetch and hawkweed.Read more