HELGAFELL

Helgafell, the "sacred mountain", is located a few kilometres south of Stykkishólmur and rises 73 metres above the surrounding plains. It is mentioned in the Landnámabók and is rich in stories, both legendary and real: Guðrún Ósvífursdóttir, the heroine of the Saga of the People of the Salmon Valley, lived and died there; an Augustinian monastery, a high place of medieval learning, existed here between 1184 and 1550; and finally, according to tradition, the ascent is conducive to vows, which must be made facing east, without turning around and without speaking...