The island of Vigur, in Ísafjarðardjúp fjord, is on the market and locals want the Icelandic government to buy it.
Ísafjarðarbær council is concerned that private buyers would make the island inaccessible to the public.
The island in the Westfjords is 45 hectares with a thriving environment. Seals frequent the shoreline and about 30,000 puffins nest in this picturesque island.
Real estate agent Davíð Ólafsson told RUV that he received 30 enquiries about the island last month, and all of them were from foreigners. He added that potential buyers from the United States “want to know about helicopter access to the island.”
10,000 tourists visit Vigur in the summer months. The island is famous for harbouring one of the country’s oldest windmills, the nation’s smallest post office, and a farm that’s been in one family for generations.
Local MP Halla Signý Kristjánsdóttir raised concerns over the trend of selling Icelandic land to foreigners. “[Vigur] is a unique natural treasure and historical site. We call it the pearl of the Westfjords,” she told RÚV. “I just think the state should bring it to the nation.”
The estimated minimum bid for the island is 300 million ISK (1.9 million GBP, 2.5 million USD).
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