Old Icelandic documentary about life in Hornstrandir (with subtitles)

*English subtitles listed as Icelandic*
This is an old Icelandic documentary (1956) about life in Hornstrandir, the most northerly part of the Westfjords region of Iceland. The area is very remote, and after Iceland industrialized people started moving from the “back-water” to nearby towns. In 1956, when this movie was made, the last farmers were just leaving, and, in fact, the farm Reykjarfjörður, which has a starring role in this film, was abandoned just three years after its release - in 1959. Today the area is a nature reserve mostly visited by hikers and the descendants of former inhabitants who still own the land their farms stood on, and often stay there during the summer.
This film was produced by Ósvaldur Knudsen, an Icelandic painter and filmmaker, and narrated by Dr. Kristján Eldjárn. When this film was produced, Dr. Eldjárn (lit. fire-iron) was the foremost archaeologist in Iceland but he would go on to become the third president of the nation in 1968.

[@PauleLR]

A world without plastic. Remarkable!

[@VictoireOuMort]

You have no idea how much I hate plastics.

[@LeifurHakonarson]

Since this film was made the northern boundary of human habitation has moved south to Norðurfjörður, Reykjarfjörður (the northernmost inhabited farm at that time) is now only populated for a few months in summer. Horses and dogs have been outlawed, this part of Iceland is now the domain of the Arctic Fox - and lots of human backpackers.

[@GirthGang-2]

þetta er svo fallegt!

[@darcysmoke]

rerally enjoyed this thank you

[@MickeyDichter]

Superb! Thank you.

[@Koryr]

Have any more of these? This is fantastic!

[@hognigk96]

I have one more that I could upload but it is very different from this one. It’s about an archaeological dig in one of the old bishoprics of Iceland, led by the narrator of this film.

[@Koryr]

@@hognigk96 interesting!

[@_smirk_]

@@hognigk96I would be interested to see it...

[@seer1026]

Glæsilegt þetta!

[@hilaryrayner6433]

Enjoyed

[@nodirateacher9390]

Beautiful nature

[@gummitrausta8264]

Einstaklega falleg mynd !

[@honinakecheta601]

Cool

[@johns-gn3ly]

Did folks cut their feet on the horn when bathing at the strand?

[@KoriHoornstra]

My family owns this property

[@marcinminkowski345]

Ég vonaði að textarnir eru virkilega á íslensku. Ég gæti lært íslensku.

[@hognigk96]

@@marcinminkowski345 því miður gerði ég bara á ensku. Get bætt íslensku við ef þig langar :)

[@oleskom]

Is narrator speaking icelandic ? Sounds a bit like Norwegian or swedish accent:)

[@hognigk96]

Yes, he’s speaking Icelandic. In fact, this is a very old-school way of speaking and about as pure as you can get in terms of pronunciation. The narrator, Kristján Eldjárn, later became president of Iceland!

[@dylanlove130]

What did that dude snort at 8 minutes?

[@hognigk96]

@@dylanlove130 that’s Icelandic snus, basically it’s tobacco that you snort. It’s still popular today, mainly with older people

[@auurharardottir3710]

Skemmtilegt😅

[@Mattan777]

Those poor horses.

[@Vingul]

They have been bred to do such work through millennia and anyway lived better lives than most people do today.

[@maywalker997]

Icelandic Ponies are some of the hardiest horses in the world, though they are small they are very physically strong and full of energy; carrying grown adults, lugging tree trunks or weathering out an Icelandic Winter is no problem for them at all! The horses in the film were all in very good shape, they were clearly being looked after well by people who valued them and knew how to care for them properly.

[@stollstoll1691]

@@maywalker997 There are no ponies in Iceland, only horses.

[@user-xg1dh5fn1t]

у тебя тоже голову срывает,раз оскорбляешь Русских людей

[@evmollet5418]

Horrible music