Borgarvirki Fortress
About the place
Borgarvirki is the eroded core of an old volcano — a basalt plug whose tall columns form a natural ring of walls 10 to 15 metres high. Early Icelanders read it as a ready-made stronghold and built on it, adding stone walls, a gate and small dwellings to close the gaps between the columns. Local tradition ties it to the Settlement and saga era, around 1000 AD, when it was used as a defensive position during regional feuds. Inside the rim sits a grassy hollow with the remains of two huts and a small well. From the top the view runs across the Víðidalur valley and the surrounding mountains, which is exactly what made the site useful: anyone approaching could be seen well in advance. It is a short walk up from the parking area.
