The Viking Film Set

While hiking along the remote coastline of Höfn í Hornafirði in Iceland, looking for an old abandoned village, I stumbled upon this turf-roofed buildings that looked like an ancient Viking village. It was the ‘Viking Film Set’.

Several signs on the road told me to stay away, and that photography was forbidden. My interest was awoken! As soon I entered the village through the old wooden gate, I noticed the buildings were all fake. The place was abandoned except for some sheep, but the location was newly built not long ago. The set is located on the land of a local farmer. The village was built during 2010 as a film set for a Viking film that was never finished.

The film set finally made its debut in 2018 in a film by Universal, Vikingr, a film by the Icelandic director Baltasar Kormákur. The script, written by both Baltasar and Ólafur Egill Egilsson, is based on tales of from the Icelandic Sagas and tells of early Viking settlers.

I visited the ‘Viking Film Set’ in 2013 during my Iceland road trip. Meanwhile, the location remains open to the public. More Icelandic locations can be found here.