Akranes

Akranes is a port town and municipality at the west coast of Iceland, round 20 km north of the capital Reykjavík. The vicinity wherein Akranes is placed became settled inside the ninth century, but did now not acquire a municipal charter till 1942. Akranes turned into settled inside the 9th century by way of the brothers pormodur and Ketill, sons of Bresi. They came from Ireland.

The metropolis started to form within the mid-17th century as a fishing village. In 1942, it turned into officially chartered, and inside the following years it had the largest surge in population in its history. Industry has been a big and developing agency: a cement plant has been operated inside the town for the reason that 1950s, and an aluminum smelting plant has been in operation close to the metropolis seeing that 1998. The fishing industry stays the city's most crucial source of employment, however trade is likewise a giant organisation as Akranes acts as a provider middle for a big rural region surrounding it. Akranes was the birthplace of the Atom poet Jon Oskar and footballers Rikhardur Jonsson and Arnor Sigurdsson.