Reynisdrangar Explained

Reynisdrangar (in Icelandic pronounced as /ˈreiːnɪsˌtrauŋkar̥/) are basalt sea stacks situated under the mountain Reynisfjall in Icelandic pronounced as /ˈreiːnɪsˌfjatl̥/ near the village Vík í Mýrdal in southern Iceland. It is framed by a black sand beach[1] that was ranked in 1991 as one of the ten most beautiful non-tropical beaches in the world.[2] In 2021 Reynisfjara in Icelandic pronounced as /ˈreiːnɪsˌfjaːra/ was rated the 6th best beach in the world.[3]

Legend

Legend says that the stacks originated when two trolls dragged a three-masted ship to land unsuccessfully and when daylight broke they became needles of rock.[4]

Contemporary legends note the story of a husband who found his wife taken by the two trolls, frozen at night. The husband made the two trolls swear to never kill anyone ever again. His wife was the love of his life, whose free spirit he was unable to provide a home for; she found her fate out among the trolls, rocks, and sea at Reynisfjara.[5]

In popular culture

Reynisdrangar appears several times throughout Netflix's Icelandic original series Katla, and is particularly significant to the series' protagonist Gríma as the site of her mother's death.[6]

See also

External links

63.3993°N -19.0319°W

Notes and References

  1. Web site: The Iceland black sand beach . 22 January 2021 .
  2. Web site: Black Sand Beach in Iceland Photo by Inderjit Singh — National Geographic Your Shot . https://web.archive.org/web/20151217134419/http://yourshot.nationalgeographic.com/photos/1710458/ . dead . 17 December 2015 . National Geographic Your Shot . 20 July 2015.
  3. Web site: Iceland home to 6th best beach in the world . MBL Iceland Monitor . 17 July 2021.
  4. Web site: Discover South Iceland Highland - Attractions: Dyrhólaey and Reynisdrangar . https://web.archive.org/web/20110701180116/http://www.hotelhighland.is/To-See-and-To-Do/Attractions---to-see/Dyrholaey-and-Reynisdrangar_119/default.aspx . 1 July 2011 . hotelhighland.is.
  5. Book: Beckwith, Ken . Heart of Birds, Refuge by the Sea and Blurb, 2020. . 2 January 2020 . Refuge by the Sea/Blurb . 978-1714366767.
  6. Web site: Where Was the Katla Netflix Series Filmed? Panorama Glass Lodge . Panorama Glass Lodge . 30 July 2021.