Hveragerði

[edit] The surrounding area is part of the Hengill central volcano, and is geothermally active and experiences very frequent (usually minor) earthquakes. The town is known for its greenhouses, which are heated by hot water from volcanic hot springs. The first greenhouse was built in 1923. These springs are the site of occurrence of certain extremophile micro-organisms, that are capable of surviving in extremely hot environments. Close to the church is a hot spring called Sandhólshver ([ˈsantˌhoulsˌkʰvɛːr̥, -xʷɛːr̥], "sand hill hot-spring"), formed during the violent South Iceland earthquake of 1896. A fenced-off geothermal area in the town has numerous hot springs and fumaroles. Hveragerði contains a number of greenhouses and is a hotbed for Icelandic horticulture. To the south of Hveragerði, there is the small port of Þorlákshöfn, winter point of departure for the ferry to the Westman Islands.

[edit] Water from hot springs has been used for heating in this area since 1929. Hveragerði had 121 inhabitants in 1940 and 399 in 1946. Hveragerði was awarded municipal status (kaupstaðuréttindi) on 1 July 1987. In 1989 the town had 1.593 inhabitants. On 29 May 2008 people were injured and many buildings in Hveragerði and its surroundings were damaged by a Mw 6.3 earthquake.

[edit] Hveragerðiskirkja, a modern Protestant church, was built 1967–72. Listasafn Árnesinga is a museum of arts founded in 1963 where about 500 pieces of art are exhibited. The exhibition Skjálftinn 2008 in Sunnumörk shopping centre refers to the earthquake of 2008. The town has one of Iceland's two largest swimming pools, called Laugaskarð, tied with Laugardalslaug in Reykjavik, which has two 50 m long swimming pools.

[edit] Hveragarðurinn is a park with various hot springs and fumaroles and information boards providing explanations on the occurrence. In Lystigarðurinn Fossflöt, a park which was founded in 1983, a hydroelectric power station can be visited which was built as early as 1902 beside the waterfall Reykjafoss.

[edit] The local football club is Hamar, competing in the 4. deild karla, the fifth tier of the Icelandic football league system.

[edit] See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Iceland Hveragerði is twinned with: Äänekoski, Finland Ikast-Brande, Denmark Örnsköldsvik, Sweden Sigdal, Norway Tarp, Germany

[edit] Climate data for Reykir í Ölfusi (1981–2000) Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year Record high °C (°F) 8.2(46.8) 9.0(48.2) 8.6(47.5) 15.1(59.2) 19.2(66.6) 24.0(75.2) 23.3(73.9) 21.0(69.8) 18.5(65.3) 13.0(55.4) 10.9(51.6) 10.5(50.9) 24.0(75.2) Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 2.2(36.0) 2.2(36.0) 2.2(36.0) 5.0(41.0) 9.3(48.7) 12.2(54.0) 14.0(57.2) 13.2(55.8) 10.3(50.5) 6.3(43.3) 3.8(38.8) 2.4(36.3) 6.9(44.5) Daily mean °C (°F) −0.2(31.6) −0.1(31.8) -0.0(32.0) 2.2(36.0) 6.2(43.2) 9.0(48.2) 10.8(51.4) 10.3(50.5) 7.6(45.7) 4.3(39.7) 1.8(35.2) 0.1(32.2) 4.3(39.8) Mean daily minimum °C (°F) −2.7(27.1) −2.6(27.3) −2.6(27.3) −0.1(31.8) 3.8(38.8) 6.7(44.1) 8.6(47.5) 8.3(46.9) 5.4(41.7) 2.1(35.8) −0.3(31.5) −2.1(28.2) 2.0(35.7) Record low °C (°F) −14.4(6.1) −12.7(9.1) −14.9(5.2) −10.1(13.8) −7.3(18.9) −1.3(29.7) 2.1(35.8) 0.9(33.6) −3.1(26.4) −7.1(19.2) −11.2(11.8) −13.7(7.3) −14.9(5.2) Average precipitation mm (inches) 138.5(5.45) 139.6(5.50) 145.6(5.73) 110.0(4.33) 127.0(5.00) 112.7(4.44) 141.5(5.57) 159.1(6.26) 137.8(5.43) 149.3(5.88) 133.1(5.24) 146.2(5.76) 1,640.4(64.59) Mean monthly sunshine hours 18.2 46.4 100.8 147.5 159.0 150.8 142.3 125.2 112.2 81.3 40.3 14.1 1,138.1 Source: Icelandic Met Office