Overview
About Heimaey
A town built around the harbour
In 1627, raiders from Algiers attacked the islands, killing people and taking hundreds into captivity. The event became a lasting part of local historical memory. Much later, motorised fishing transformed the island's economy and supported rapid population growth. Vestmannaeyjar received town status in 1919, when its population was around two thousand. Fishing remained central to the settlement's development, linking its harbour and processing industries with markets beyond the island.
Evacuation, loss and reconstruction
The eruption that began on 23 January 1973 forced most islanders to leave for the mainland. Almost four hundred homes and businesses were destroyed, approximately a third of the town's buildings. The community subsequently rebuilt, while traces of the disaster became part of its historical record. Eldheimar museum preserves the excavated remains of the house at Gerðisbraut 10, where a family with three young children had lived before fleeing. The buried home gives a household-scale view of an event that transformed the whole island.
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