My Rural Travelogue (Part XXXIII): Rural gentrification--next to a prison, no less--in Iceland

I've been vacationing in Iceland for the past week, and I'm struck by how rural this country of less than 400,000 residents is.  In particular, Reykjavik, the capital city, has a population of about 140K, and the entire capital region is home to 248K residents.  Thus, some 140K Icelanders live in small cities/towns and rural areas.  Once outside Reykjavik and the peninsula on which it sits, farms dot the countryside.

We have spent the bulk of our time in southeastern and southern Iceland, where many towns are no larger than a thousand residents.  Our guide has told us that Selfoss (population 10K) is the fastest growing city in the country and the largest residential area in South Iceland.  It lies just about an hour south of Reykjavik, and wikipedia says it is a centre of commerce and small industries.  We were happy to do some grocery shopping there and also to enjoy the renovated downtown shopping area, where an outpost of a popular Reykjavik restaurant, Messinn, opened not long ago.  

Our guide has told us that most Icelanders have country cabins/cottages, and that those who don't are able to use the cabins belonging to their workers' unions.  Many such cabins are located around Selfoss, and we saw ample evidence of this phenomenon, with some cottages so close to one another as to give the appearance of little housing developments.  

One small town we passed through en route to Selfoss and just maybe 10-15 kilometers away is Eyrarbakki, population 570.  Our guide pointed out that many of the old homes here are being fixed up by folks from Reykjavik, some of whom commute.  Here are some of the old-style homes that are now fixed up:

And here, for comparison's sake, are an outbuilding and home on the same main street that have not been renovated: 

Here is a local (Reykjavik) blogger's post about the village and a very old timber home there, one built from a kit in the late 1700s.  

And here is the school, whit sits next to the sea wall:

And the church, across the street from the school:  

There is also an "old folks home," but I didn't capture a photo of it. I did, however,  get a photo of the cemetery.

And it was while photographing the cemetery that I caught sight of these buildings behind a high fence, which were to my back as I looked toward the cemetery, which our guide informed us is the country's largest prison, Litla Hraun, founded in 1929.  As you can see, it isn't very large.  Also, its population is not included in the town's population.  

I'll share more photos of rural Iceland in future posts.