Iceland review - 2014, Qupperneq 60

58 ICELAND REVIEW
Enter Fáskrúðsfjörður in the east
Fjords and you immediately sense
the friendly atmosphere that char-
acterizes the fewer than 700-person village
in the fjord, known as Búðir, where every-
body knows everybody and is willing to
lend a helping hand.
Fishing and French inFluences
“there you can see our new pelagic fishing
ship,” local guide Berglind agnarsdóttir
proudly points out as a large, dark green
vessel prepares for another 48-hour session
of mackerel fishing. “We name our ships
after mountains. this ship is called Hoffell
after our emblem mountain,” she says of
a distinct pointy mountain overlooking
the village. Berglind explains that local
fisheries company Loðnuvinnslan is 85
percent owned by cooperative Kaupfélag
Fáskrúðsfirðinga, in which residents hold
stakes. “Quota has never been sold and will
never be sold. When fishing is successful,
the whole community profits.”
While the fjord has been inhabited since
the settlement, Búðir was built up around
herring fishing in the 19th century, later
serving as a base for French fishermen
on the hunt for cod. a signpost shows
that there are 1,828 km (1,135 miles) to
gravelines, from where many of the fisher-
men came, a twin-town to Búðir since 1989.
a festival called Franskir dagar (‘French
days’) is celebrated annually in the east
Fjords village in July, held for the 20th time
this year. “We found our self-identity in the
presence of the French,” Berglind declares.
hotel with a history
the most obvious part of the village’s French
legacy is a beautifully-renovated building
by the harbor, next to Loðnuvinnslan’s fish-
rendering factory. originally built as a hos-
pital in 1904, servicing French fishermen as
well as locals, the building was saved from
a state of near decay by part state-owned
ngo minjavernd for iSK 1.1 billion (USd
9.2 million), opening as a charismatic hotel
run by Fosshótel in June 2014. Visitors are
reminded of the hotel’s history through
black-and-white photographs adorning
the walls and fishing-related vocabulary in
icelandic and French taped on the ocean-
view windows. Weathered wood beams
and bricks from the old hospital have been
left in their original state.
the hospital-turned-hotel, along with
the in-house museum Fransmenn á
Íslandi, has proven a major attraction this
past summer. “it’s been crazy busy,” hotel
manager Sigfús gunnlaugsson sighs, smil-
ing. “i’ve said ‘good morning’ to this guy
several times,” he laughs, indicating one
of the museum’s life-like wax puppets,
placed in a tunnel connecting the hospital
to Læknahúsið, the old doctor’s residence
on the other side of the street Hafnargata.
dating back to 1907, it’s also been reno-
vated into a hotel and museum. on the
other side of a brook, dotted with rocks
inscribed with names of perished fishing
boats, is a remake of the old infirmary
from 1896, where additional rooms can
be found. “We had 400 of these stones
made. We still haven’t figured out what
we’ll do with them all,” comments Sigfús.
the old mortuary serves as an office,
while the old catholic chapel from 1898
has been restored and re-inducted as such.
the buildings are owned by minjavernd,
the renovation project’s organizer, while
aRgoS architects are responsible for the
design.
Life in Fáskrúðsfjörður, the East Fjords,
is all about fish. A base for French
fishermen chasing after cod back
in the day, the old French hospital
has now been renovated into
a hotel and museum,
boosting local
tourism.
By eygló SvAlA ARnARSdóttiR. PHOTO By Páll KJARtAnSSon.
the FrenCh heart oF
the east Fjords