Helgafell
Helgafell, 'the holy mountain,' is a small, steep-sided hill of about 73 metres rising from farmland on the Snæfellsnes peninsula near Stykkishólmur. Despite its modest height it is one of the most storied places in the Icelandic sagas, revered in pagan times as sacred to Thor and later home to a medieval monastery and to the heroine of Laxdæla saga.
Region
Snæfellsnes Peninsula
Coordinates
65.0424° N, 22.7290° W
Plan the stop
- Allow
- 45 min
Accessibility
- Wheelchair · None
- A steep grassy hill climbed by an unmarked, uneven path with no barriers or made surface.
- Limited mobility · Limited
- A short but steep climb of about 70 metres of ascent over grass and rock from the farm below; the church and grave area at the base are on level ground.
- Sensory · Full
- An open, quiet rural hilltop with wide views over Breiðafjörður.
- Cognitive · Full
- A simple, single hill with the church and grave at its foot; the climb is self-evident.
Why it matters
According to Eyrbyggja saga, the settler Þórólfur Mostrarskegg, a devotee of Thor, held Helgafell so sacred that no one was to look upon it unwashed and no living thing, human or animal, was to be harmed on it; he believed that he and his kin would die into the mountain. The nearby Þórsnes became the seat of one of Iceland's oldest assemblies, the Þórsnesþing. In the Christian era Helgafell became a farm and religious centre: an Augustinian monastery, one of the most important in medieval Iceland and a centre of manuscript production, was moved there in 1184 and lasted until the Reformation. Helgafell is also where Guðrún Ósvífursdóttir, the tragic heroine of Laxdæla saga, spent her last years and is said to be buried, having become, in tradition, Iceland's first nun and anchoress. A small church stands at the farm below, and folk tradition holds that a first-time visitor who climbs the hill from Guðrún's grave in silence, without looking back or speaking, and faces east at the top may make three wishes that will come true if kept secret and made with a good heart.