Borgarnes is a town located on a peninsula at the shore of Borgarfjörður in Iceland.
It has a population of 1,763 (as of January 2011). The town is located 60 km north of the capital Reykjavík and is connected to other places in Iceland through the second largest bridge in Iceland, Borgarfjarðarbrú. Borgarnes is the biggest town in the Borgarbyggð municipality.
Magnus Scheving, former European gymnastics champion & CEO of LazyTown Entertainment is from the town.
Borgarnes is first noted in Egils Saga but in the saga it is called Digranes. The first Settler to live there was called Grani, a shipmate of Skallagrímur, the first landlord and settler of the Borgarfjörður-area. There is no known history of settlement in Borgarnes after Grani's days until the 19th century.
The city of Borgarnes as seen from the south, driving up on Route 1.
Just after Iceland gained freedom from the Danish trading monopoly, there was a great demand for a trading place in the area and the Danish King authorized Borgarnes as a trading place in 1861.
The first major building built in Borgarnes was a canning factory. It was built in 1857 but was torn down a few years later. A trading house was built in Borgarnes in 1877, and a few years later settlement in Borgarnes began in earnest.
Town of Borgarnes in wintertime with Mt. Hafnarfjall in the background, Iceland.
In 1913, Borgarnes officially became a town called Borgarneshreppur but had its name changed to Borgarnesbær in 1987. Later on, in 1994, Borgarnesbær united with Hraunhreppur, Norðurárdalshreppur, and Stafholtstungnahreppur under the name Borgarbyggð, using the Borgarnes seal and offices. In 1998, Álftaneshreppur, Borgarhreppur and Þverárhlíðarhreppur also became a part of Borgarbyggð.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borgarnes