Carry On Icelandic: Culture [selections] (2004)
Previous section
Egilsstaðir
Egilsstaðir
Egilsstaðir, með um það bil 1.500 íbúa (2000), er miðstöð samgangna á Austfjörðum. Hringvegurinn liggur í gegnum bæinn og þaðan er nánast jafn langt til Reykjavíkur, hvort sem er norður eða suður um land.
Egilsstaðir og Lagarfljótið (Egilsstaðir and Lagarfljót).
Egilsstaðir eru á Fljótsdalshéraði, austan Lagarfljóts. Margar frásagnir eru af kynjaskepnum í Lagarfljóti. Ein þeirra segir frá Lagarfljótsorminum sem sagður er halda til í fljótinu og gera vart við sig stöku sinnum. Hans er fyrst getið í annálum 1345. Þegar hann skaut upp kryppum úr fljótinu var það talið boða stórtíðindi. Nú hefur gas fundist á tveimur stöðum, sem streymir upp úr vatninu, og þykir þar komin skýringin á Lagarfljótsorminum.
Við sunnanvert Lagarfljót er Hallormsstaðarskógur, stærsti skógur á Íslandi. Skógræktarstöð var stofnuð þar 1903 og þar eru nú framleiddar trjáplöntur og gerðar tilraunir með erlendar tegundir.
Egilsstaðir
With approximately 1,500 residents (2000), Egilsstaðir is the administrative and transportation centre of the eastern part of Iceland. The ring road around Iceland passes through the town, and the distance from Egilsstaðir to Reykjavík via the southern or the northern stretch of highway one is practically the same.
Egilsstaðir is located in the Fljótsdalur district, on the eastern end of Lagarfljót. There are many stories about "kynjaskepnur", that is, strange animals or unknown phenomena, in Lagarfljót. One of these stories concerns the Lagarfljót Worm, or "Lagarfljótsormur", that is thought to live in the river and show itself only very rarely. The legend of the worm is first mentioned in the Icelandic Annals of 1345. When his hump surfaced out of the river, it was thought to bode great news. More recently, gasses that are forced up out of the water have been discovered in two places and it is thought that this may offer an explanation of the Lagarfljót Worm.
At the southern end of Lagarfljót lies Hallormsstaðarskógur, the largest forest in Iceland. A forestry station was established there in 1903, where trees are cultivated and experiments with foreign varieties of trees are carried out.
Top of Page
Content, including images, © Stofnun Sigurður Nordals, 2004. Used with permission.
TEI markup © Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System, 2004. All rights reserved.
Those interested in using these texts for any purpose not covered under Fair Use must seek the permission of Stofnun Sigurður Nordals and the University of Wisconsin-Madison Libraries.