Epic Travel → Europe → Iceland → Southern Iceland → Stöng

Location: Thjórsárdalur, Southern Iceland

Time Required: 1 hour

Red Tape/Notes: Access is via a dirt road, but it should be passable in most seasons without a 4 wheel drive.

What’s Nearby?: Gjáin, Háifoss, Hjálparfoss

As is the case with most active volcanic regions- this one being the region around Hekla – people settled in the area, and then eventually lost their homes during an eruption (historians believe it was the 1104 CE eruption). Apparently there were eight farms in the area, and all of them have been excavated and studied. Seven of them were covered back up, but Stöng was left uncovered and has had a shelter built around it so visitors can go inside and view the remains of the longhouse. A helpful schematic allows you to understand what you’re looking at when you’re inside the longhouse – it contains a living area, pantry, bedrooms, communal restroom facility and other typical requirements of a home. There are foundations and ruins of other buildings (church, smithy, barn, etc) nearby. The settlement was used as the pattern for the nearby replica village Þjóðveldisbærinn, which means “Commonwealth Farm” (people often mistakenly refer to this place as Stöng, since it’s a replica of the Stöng settlement). Þjóðveldisbærinn is open from June 1 through August 31 (10am to 5pm), while the actual ruins of Stöng are open year round (as long as you can get to them via the rough road).

Epic Travel → Europe → Iceland → Southern Iceland → Stöng