Lighthouses

Hvalnes is a small peninsula with a black pebble beach stretching for a few kilometers. Sitting on its tip is a picturesque old, yellow lighthouse and an old turf farm with the same name as Hvalnes.  The beach stretches for a few kilometers and would make a nice walk, or you can hang out on the beach and enjoy the view. It is an excellent location for bird watching and photography.  

Built-in 1938-1939, the lighthouse was the first one in Iceland to be built out of reinforced concrete. For a long time, the lighthouse was the tallest building in South Iceland, 26,2 meters (86 feet) high. It was designed by the engineer Axel Sveinsson as a blend of functionalism and art nouveau (jugendstil).  In summertime (mid of June to start August) the lighthouse is open every day. Knarrarósviti lighthouse is part of the beautiful South Coast Lighthouse trail that you can find more information about here.  

Selvogsviti was built in 1919 and rebuilt in 1931. The light height is 20 meters above sea level. In 1919, a 15-meter high iron frame was built on Selvogstangi. It was fitted with a 3.3 meter high light and a 200 ° dioptric 1000 mm lens and gaslight fixture. The lighthouse was the same type as the Stokksnes lighthouse, built-in 1922. After only ten years, the lighthouse had become so rusty that it became necessary to build a new lighthouse, and in 1930 a 15.8 m high lighthouse was made of concrete. A year later, the lighthouse, lens, and gaslight fixtures of the iron frame lighthouse were installed on it, and the new Selvog lighthouse was taken into use. In 1987, the walls of the lighthouse were renovated. The lighthouse was electrified a year later, and a radar detector was installed on it. The light is now lit on the lighthouse for safety reasons, but the radio transmitters on top of it are the most important thing now. The lighthouse is still in operation and is fully automated today.   Selvogsviti lighthouse is part of the beautiful South Coast Lighthouse trail that you can find more information about here.