Ingólfur Arnarson, Iceland´s first settler is probably the first tourist to come here. When he first came to Iceland he stayed in Ingólfshöfði with his family during the winter of 874-875 before moving further west. Ingólfshöfði is about 100 km from Höfn.
The story of residence in Höfn started the summer of 1897.  Höfn is therefore one of the youngest towns in Iceland. Otto Tulinius and his wife Valgerður moved here from Papós witch was an old trading place in Lón a district east of Höfn. Höfn then became a new trading place and the only agglomeration in East-Skaftafell County. When Tulinius came here only four people lived in this place but now there are about 2200 inhabitants. There are about 1700 people in Höfn while the rest live on farms in the county.

Vatnajökull, Europe´s largest glacier always had a great impact on the landscape of this county and the lives of the inhabitants here. Until bridges were built in the county, around early 1970s, the big glacier rivers made Southeast Iceland one of the most insolated areas in Iceland. Despite this Icelanders have survived here, against all odds, ever since the viking Ingólfur Arnarson first settled here in 874 A.D.

Fishing industry became the main source of income for the town Höfn around 1930.
When the villages in Iceland started to get bigger, the fish industry became more important. This is a town where the fisheries have always been the main economical activity. The biggest factory in Höfn is the Skinney-Þinganess freezing-plant where about 200 people work.
The sailing in to the harbor has always considered to be very dangerous. A lot of fishermen have drowned saling in to the Höfn harbor, over the years it has been reformed but is still rather dangerous.

The tourism in Höfn is very important and has grown a lot over the years, over hundred thousand tourists visit Höfn in a year.
In the vicinity of Höfn there are a lot of major tourist attractions, like the Vatnajökull National Park and the Glacier Lagoon.

Written by Amna