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HĂșsavĂ­k, town, northern Iceland. It lies along SkjĂĄlfandi Bay, northeast of Akureyri, and is the oldest settlement in Iceland. According to legend, HĂșsavĂ­k (“Bay of the Houses”) was so named because a Swedish seafarer, Gardar, blown off course, built a house and wintered there in 864. In the 1880s one of Iceland’s first cooperatives was organized there. HĂșsavĂ­k is a fishing port and serves as a market centre for a dairy-farming and sheep-raising area. Pop. (2006 est.) 2,296.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Adam Augustyn.
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