Arngerðareyri Farm

This is the abandoned Icelandic farmhouse ‘Arngerðareyri’ in Nauteyrarhreppur. This place lies in the Ísafjarðardjúp district in the far north of Iceland. It was built in 1928 and was eventually abandoned in 1966.

This Icelandic region, the Westfjords, are very sparsely populated, in fact the total population in 2007 was 7.380. The house was originally built for a merchant manager from Kaupfélag. There was a shop, a bus stop with a telephone booth and surprisingly a school. Later the farm was sold to an Icelandic family of fishermen. In the yard of the derelict farmhouse there is a quay for the fishing boats.

This unique house is often referred to as The Castle. At its time it was one of the most beautiful houses in Iceland. It was built in 1928, at a time when life was prosperous in Arngerdareyri. In fact there was a bridge where the ferry would stop, a shop for the region and a slaughterhouse.

The castle stood empty for 40 years until a couple from Germany bought it and are busy restoring it to its former glory. I took these photos of ‘Arngerðareyri Farm’ in 2008 during my road trip through Iceland. Follow this link for more Icelandic abandonments.