Hegranes
| Etymology | Icelandic for "heron peninsula" |
|---|---|
| Geography | |
| Location | Héraðsvötn |
| Coordinates | 65°42′N 19°28′W / 65.700°N 19.467°W |
| Length | 15 km (9.3 mi) |
| Administration | |
| county | Skagafjörður (municipality) |
| Additional information | |
| ISO code | is |
Hegranes is the name of the peninsula between the branches of the Héraðsvötn river in Skagafjörður, Iceland. Although Hegranes is called a peninsula (its name is derived from hegri "heron" and nes "peninsula"), it is actually an island about 15 kilometers long with a fairly tall, rocky headland covered in vegetation.[1] Héraðsvötn's western estuary hews closely to the west side of the peninsula, but there is a large sandy area before the peninsula reaches the eastern estuary. Off the southern end of the peninsula, there is a delta called Austara-Eylendið. It has diverse avian life and vegetation and is home to a natural heritage site.[2]
History
Hegranes was previously its own rural district, or hreppur, called Rípurhreppur, which has since become a part of the larger municipality of Skagafjörður.[3]
The Skagafjörður assembly, the Hegranesþing, was held on the grounds of what is now the Garður farm in Hegranes.[4] This location also sometimes hosted a northern quadrant assembly (fjórðungsþing, an assembly historically held for a quadrant of the country).[1] The region's church is located in Ríp.[5] One of the first women's schools in the country was founded in Ás in Hegranes in fall 1877, but it only stayed open for one year.[6]
In the town of Keldudalur, in Hegranes, there has been extensive progress in archeological excavations. Ruins dating to the 10th to 12th centuries have been unearthed.[7]
According to local folk beliefs, many elves, or 'hidden folk', have settlements in Hegranes. This belief holds some influence over road construction.[8]
References
- ^ a b "Hegranes - NAT ferðavísir". nat.is (in Icelandic). 2020-05-04. Archived from the original on 2024-05-24. Retrieved 2025-06-11.
- ^ "Umhverfisstofnun | Norðvesturland". Umhverfisstofnun (in Icelandic). Retrieved 2024-05-13.
- ^ "Fróðleikur um Skagafjörð" [Information about Skagafjörður]. Skagafjörður (in Icelandic). Archived from the original on 2025-02-09. Retrieved 2025-06-11.
- ^ Normann, Jón. "Garður". nafnið.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 2025-06-11.
- ^ Andresson, Thorarinn. "Rípurkirkja". kirkjukort.net (in Icelandic). Archived from the original on 2016-03-05. Retrieved 2025-06-11.
- ^ Halldórsdóttir, Erla Hulda; Jónatansdóttir, Erla Hulda, eds. (1998). "Skólar og Menntun" [Schools and Education]. Ártöl og áfangar í sögu íslenskra kvenna [Trials and achievements in the history of Icelandic women] (in Icelandic). Reykjavík: Kvennasögusafn Íslands. p. 30.
- ^ Zoëga, Guðný (2008). "Keldudalur í Hegranesi: Fornleifarannsóknir 2002–2007" [Keldudalur in Hegranes: Archaeological Research 2002–2007] (PDF). rafhaldan.is (in Icelandic). Byggðasafns Skagafirðinga. Retrieved 2025-06-11.
- ^ Ingólfsson, Viktor Arnar (2016-11-14). "Eru þekkt dæmi um að álfar eða huldufólk hafi stoppað vegagerð?" [Are there any known examples of elves or hidden folk stopping road construction?]. Vísindavefurinn (in Icelandic). Archived from the original on 2024-11-08. Retrieved 2024-05-13.