Happy birthday!

Hafnarfjörður celebrates its 108th anniversary as a town today, having been granted town rights on 1 June 1908. Hafnarfjörður became the fifth municipality in Iceland to receive town rights.

For a long time, Hafnarfjörður had the distinction that its main industry was not agriculture, as was the case in many places, but fisheries.  There was a strong desire to make Hafnarfjörður a separate municipality as early as 1876 because of this distinctiveness, but it was not until 1908 that the town reached that milestone. Until that point, Hafnarfjörður had been part of Álftaneshreppur and later Garðahreppur. After several attempts, a bill for town rights for Hafnarfjörður was presented to and passed by the Althingi in 1907. The new law came into effect on 1 June 1908, making the day the official birthday of the Borough of Hafnarfjörður.

In the 108 years since the Borough of Hafnarfjörður was granted its town rights, there has been significant growth; the number of residents and businesses within the municipality has increased considerably, and activity in a wide range of fields has expanded.  The town's population has grown from 1,469 to just over 28,000, and there are now around 1,200 businesses in Hafnarfjörður. 

We are celebrating the anniversary with a concert at Hásalar Strandgata at 6 p.m.  The Amandus orchestra from Cuxhaven, comprising 28 musicians aged 13–18 who play the violin, cello, trumpet, trombone, saxophone and guitar, will also perform.  At the concert, the newly formed Hafnarfjörður Music School Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Ármann Helgason, will play with them for several pieces.  

Happy birthday!