At one point in time, this small village was home to largest export harbor in Iceland.

In the forties and fifties, the herring frenzy dominated the Icelandic economy[1] and Raufarhöfn was an important place in that economic chain.

The village is also the site of a modern monument called the "Arctic Henge" which is aligned to the heavens and is inspired by the mythical world of the Eddic poem Völuspá (Prophecy of the Seeress).

[3] The church was built in 1928 by Guðjón Samúelsson, one of the most important Icelandic architects, and inaugurated on 1 January 1929.

[5] Circa 1996, a large stone monument, "Arctic Henge" (Heimskautsgerði [ˈheimˌskœytsˌcɛrðɪ] in Icelandic), was constructed close to the village.