Flatey is the name of an island in Iceland’s greatest archipelago, Breiðafjörður.
Breiðafjörður has so many small islands that it’s almost impossible to count them. Many of the islands were inhabited the whole year around in earlier times but only in Flatey there remains a year-round settlement.
Photo by Salvör Gissurardottir. Wikipedia commons - Official licence.
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Flatey-hus4.jpg
This remarkable island was one of Iceland’s cultural centers in the mid-19th century and the oldest specially-built library is still standing there along with other buildings from the same period.
You can take a ferry from Stykkishólmur to Flatey, stop there for a few hours or even spend the night and get the impression you have traveled back in time, to the 19th century. On your way to Flatey you can enjoy the astounding number of birds in the archipelago and if you’re lucky you might even catch a glimpse of seals.
