Hafnarfjörður,[a] officially Hafnarfjarðarkaupstaður,[b] is a port town and municipality in Iceland, located about 10 km (6 mi) south of Reykjavík.

The town is built on top of Holocene lava fields erupted from the nearby Krýsuvík volcanic system, including the 8000-year-old Búrfellshraun and the much younger 2000-year-old Óbrinnishólabruni.

There have been no new lava flows on the site since before the Settlement of Iceland, but the Krýsuvík system is still an active volcano, last erupting in 2021 at Fagradalsfjall further to the southwest.

Englishmen began trading in Hafnarfjörður in the 15th century, but German merchants followed in their wake and eventually drove the English out.

The first Lutheran church in Iceland was raised at Háigrandi [ˈhauːɪˌkrantɪ], opposite Óseyri [ˈouːsˌeiːrɪ], just outside the small boat harbour in 1533.

In 1793, Bjarni Sívertsen settled here and became influential in local business and international trade, setting up a major commercial fishing operation.

This led to even more employment and rapid growth, and Hafnarfjörður was the fifth town in Iceland to attain official municipal status in 1908.

After World War II, more advanced trawlers and numerous motorised ships were added to the fleet.

Through the years, Hafnarfjörður's dynamic local economy has been strongly linked to fishing, although freight transport has recently become the major harbour activity.

The events include short movies, concerts and usually conclude on a day commemorating the sailors of Iceland.

Hellisgerði [ˈhɛtlɪsˌcɛrðɪ] is a small park with lava rocks in the centre of the town which is visited by many people believing that elves and trolls reside there.

[22] Víðistaðatún [ˈviːðɪˌstaːðaˌtʰuːn] is a park in the town centre which is famous for its sculptures created by Icelandic and international well-known artists.

[23] The symbol of Hafnarafjörður is Viti [ˈvɪːtɪ], a lighthouse built around 1900 which can be seen in a residential area on private property.

At a latitude of 64.07°N, the field broke the record previously held in Umeå, Sweden (63.84°N) by 25 km (15.5 mi).

[26] In the 1986 novel Red Storm Rising by Tom Clancy, the Soviet Union gains a dramatic strategic advantage at the beginning of the war by seizing Iceland with a Guards Airborne division transported secretly by converted freighters.

Additionally, in the novella, The Odd Saga of the American and a Curious Icelandic Flock,[27] Snorri calls Alex in the middle of the night to tell him that he is passing through Hafnarfjörður and will be picking him up shortly for a trip to Snæfellsnes.

In 2017 a petition calling upon the Icelandic Prime Minister to erect a statue of Stefán Karl Stefánsson in his hometown of Hafnarfjörður “to forever immortalize and honour his amazing legacy” was created.