Gunnuhver is a geothermal area which many tours will visit as it is close to the airport, so can be visited at either the beginning or end of a tour.
It takes its name from an interesting story referring to a legend, from nearly 400 years ago.
Apparently a woman named Gudrun or “Gunna” for short, used to live in a small community on Reykjanes. She was a farmer, working and living on the estate owned by Vilhjalmur, a wealthy and powerful lawyer. One day she failed to pay the rent.
As a result, the landlord decided to take her boiling (cooking) pot as part payment. This filled Gunna with anger, and in a state of madness, she decided to starve herself to death. After her death, when the men from the community carried her coffin to the cemetery, they noticed that it became lighter.
While her grave was dug, some people heard a bone-chilling whisper: “No need deep to dig, no plans long to lie,” and assumed it was her ghost talking. Their fears were confirmed when Vilhjalmur was later found dead, with his body terribly mutilated.
It takes its name from an interesting story referring to a legend, from nearly 400 years ago.
Apparently a woman named Gudrun or “Gunna” for short, used to live in a small community on Reykjanes. She was a farmer, working and living on the estate owned by Vilhjalmur, a wealthy and powerful lawyer. One day she failed to pay the rent.
As a result, the landlord decided to take her boiling (cooking) pot as part payment. This filled Gunna with anger, and in a state of madness, she decided to starve herself to death. After her death, when the men from the community carried her coffin to the cemetery, they noticed that it became lighter.
While her grave was dug, some people heard a bone-chilling whisper: “No need deep to dig, no plans long to lie,” and assumed it was her ghost talking. Their fears were confirmed when Vilhjalmur was later found dead, with his body terribly mutilated.
Gunna's revenge didn’t stop there. Shortly afterwards, Vilhjalmur's wife died in a similar fashion, and others went mad after seeing her ghost. The locals turned to the priest Eirikur. The locals hired him to exorcise her spirit, and put an end to Gunna's reign of terror.
He told them to get a ball of twine and leave a loose end for the ghost to grab onto. Afterwards, they were instructed to take the ball of twine to the hot springs, hoping that Gunna would take the bait and fall in. Gunna’s hot spring was the name given to the place where she was lured. Some say that she didn’t fall in but still lingers on the edge of the steamy abyss, haunting the place for all eternity.
He told them to get a ball of twine and leave a loose end for the ghost to grab onto. Afterwards, they were instructed to take the ball of twine to the hot springs, hoping that Gunna would take the bait and fall in. Gunna’s hot spring was the name given to the place where she was lured. Some say that she didn’t fall in but still lingers on the edge of the steamy abyss, haunting the place for all eternity.
When you go there, you can decide for yourself...
Gunnuhver from Visit Reykjanes on Vimeo.
Welcome to Gunnuhver, the geothermal hot-spot closest to the Keflavik International Airport in Reykjanes Iceland. It's one of the many geosites in the Reykjanes UNESCO Global Geopark you should visit in Iceland.
Read about Gunnuhver here: www.bit.ly/gunnuhver
#Gunnuhver #Reykjanes #ReykjanesGeopark
Here's one of my images of the springs from a visit in 2015
Image: Alan Parkinson
Gunnuhver from Visit Reykjanes on Vimeo.
Welcome to Gunnuhver, the geothermal hot-spot closest to the Keflavik International Airport in Reykjanes Iceland. It's one of the many geosites in the Reykjanes UNESCO Global Geopark you should visit in Iceland.
Read about Gunnuhver here: www.bit.ly/gunnuhver
#Gunnuhver #Reykjanes #ReykjanesGeopark
Here's one of my images of the springs from a visit in 2015
Image: Alan Parkinson
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