Nordursund / Heimaey

This street facade front of the Nordursund on icelandic Vestmannaeyjar shows a series of typical fishing buildings. The Vestmannaeyjar (eng. Westman Islands) is an vulcanic archipelago off the south coast of iceland. The largest and the only inhabited island is Heimaey, the town is also called Vestmannaeyjar and has about 4.000 inhabitants. For centuries the municipality is dependent on the rich fishing grounds around the islands. Heimaey became internationally known in 1973 when the Eldfell volcano errupted for about 6 months and destroyed half the town and threatened to destroy the harbour. An international cooling project with sea water stopped the Lava and saved the harbour. The 5.000 people of Vestmannaeyjar at the time had to be evacuated for several months.