Búðardalur is a village situated on the Hvammsfjörður in the north-west of Iceland

Iceland

Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...

.

The village also lies at the north-eastern end of the Snæfellsnes

Snæfellsnes

The Snæfellsnes is a peninsula situated to the west of Borgarfjörður, in western of Iceland.It has been named Iceland in Miniature, as many national sights can be found in the area, including the Snæfellsjökull volcano, regarded as one of the symbols of Iceland. With its height of 1446 m, it...

 peninsula and is part of the municipality of Dalabyggð

Dalabyggð

Dalabyggð is a municipality located in western Iceland.As of January 2011, it had a total population of 684. The total area is 2,421 km². The main settlement is Búðardalur.-External links: http://www.dalir.is/...

. Búðardalur has about 250 inhabitants and it is a service center for the area. There are 650 inhabitants in the whole county.

Overview

Búðardalur contains a supermarket and a petrol station, flower shop, 2 hair salons, pub/restaurant, health care centre, off licence, garage and a lovely little craft shop, where women in the county sell their handmade craft items.

The village has a long history, dating from the time of the first settlements in Iceland. The name means "Camp Valley", or more directly dale of booths, this is where settlers had temporary camp when coming to this area. In 1899, Búðardalur was officially granted the right of commerce. An old house from this time is still existing.

At a short distance from the village lies the site of the former siege of Erik the Red

Erik the Red

Erik Thorvaldsson , known as Erik the Red , is remembered in medieval and Icelandic saga sources as having founded the first Nordic settlement in Greenland. The Icelandic tradition indicates that he was born in the Jæren district of Rogaland, Norway, as the son of Thorvald Asvaldsson, he therefore...

 (Eiriksstaðir), who went from there to discover Greenland

Greenland

Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...

. He was the father of Leifur "Heppni" Eiríksson (Leif the Lucky) who went on and discovered America ahead of Columbus.