Viðey
Viðey is the largest island in Kollafjörður Bay, just off Iceland’s capital, Reykjavík. It covers about 1.6 square kilometers and rises up to 32 meters above sea level. The island is split by a narrow land bridge into West Island, East Island, and the main Home Island. It is home to about 30 breeding bird species, including puffins, guillemots, and fulmars. The land has plenty of vegetation, boggy areas, and grey basalt along parts of the coast, with more than 150 plant species found here.
Visitors reach Viðey by ferry. In summer, ferries run daily from Skarfabakki, Harpa, and the Aegisgarour pier. In winter, ferries run from Skarfabakki on weekends only. The Reykjavik City Card includes a free ferry ride to the island.
Two million years ago, Viðey was an active volcano with a large caldera. Remains of the caldera are bigger than the current island and lie near the center. Much of the caldera lies under Kollafjörður.
People have lived on Viðey since at least the 10th century. Skuli Magnusson built his home and a church here in the 12th century. An Augustine Monastery was on the island from 1225 to 1539. A small village remained until 1943 when the last residents left.
On the Western Island you’ll find the Viðeyjarstofa House, built in 1753–1755 by the Danish government, designed by Nicolai Eigtved. Today it houses a restaurant. There are two hiking trails behind the restaurant, and in summer you can rent horses and take riding lessons.
In 1988 the American artist Richard Serra was invited to create a work on Viðey. He made Afangar (1990), nine pairs of basalt columns placed around Vesturey, the northwest part of the island. The stones are set at equal top heights but different lower heights, creating a sense of the island’s rise and fall.
On the island is the Imagine Peace Tower, a memorial to John Lennon by artist Yoko Ono. It is a tall beam of light shining from a wishing well, with “imagine peace” written in 24 languages. It is lit each year from October 9 (Lennon’s birthday) to December 8 (his death).
Charles Lindbergh visited the island while planning his transatlantic flight. In Philip Roth’s novel The Plot Against America, Lindbergh visits Reykjavík again in 1941 as President of the United States and signs a peace treaty with Hitler.
The name Viðey may come from the island’s early forests (Wood Island) or from driftwood that was found there.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 20:11 (CET).