Stöng

Stöng was a prosperous farm in Þjórsárdalur, a broad inland valley in southern Iceland that Norse settlers took up during the ninth and tenth centuries. Its turf-walled hall and outbuildings stood among some twenty farms scattered through the valley, one of the more densely settled inland districts of early Iceland. In 1104 Hekla erupted for the first time since the island was settled, blanketing Þjórsárdalur in pumice and ash and devastating its farms. That fallout, together with later volcanic episodes over the following two centuries, ultimately ended settlement across the valley, and the thick tephra that ruined the district also sealed and preserved what it buried, which is why the site is popularly nicknamed the "Pompeii of Iceland." Archaeological evidence suggests Stöng itself was not abandoned all at once but continued to be lived in for a time after 1104. In 1939 a Nordic team carried out the first professional excavation of the ruins and uncovered the strikingly well-preserved foundations of a Viking-age longhouse: a main hall with a long central hearth, flanked by raised earthen benches used for sitting, sleeping and handwork; an adjoining living room; and smaller service spaces, among them a pantry and an indoor latrine. Later campaigns in the 1980s and 1990s uncovered further structures, including a church. Stöng became a type-site for Icelandic turf architecture. Its recorded floor plan guided the nearby full-scale reconstruction, the Þjóðveldisbærinn or Commonwealth Farm, built between 1974 and 1977 to mark the 1100th anniversary of Iceland's settlement.

Visitors see the genuine stone-and-turf foundations uncovered in 1939, now protected beneath a shelter and viewed from a raised walkway that looks down into the rooms. The plan reads clearly: the long central hearth of the main hall, the raised side benches, and smaller chambers such as the pantry and the latrine. Unlike the replica down the valley, these are the actual remains of the buried farm. The setting adds to the appeal, on the edge of the highlands within easy reach of the wooded Gjáin gorge and the Gjárfoss waterfall, a short walk away. To picture how the standing building once looked, the reconstructed Þjóðveldisbærinn lies about 7 km to the south along the valley.

Stöng lies in the interior of Þjórsárdalur, reached from the paved Road 32 and then a gravel side road (Route 327 / Stangarvegur) leading toward the ruins and Gjáin; a high-clearance or 4x4 vehicle is advisable, and access is effectively a summer proposition, once the roads have dried out and opened. The nearest villages with services are Flúðir and Árnes. The excavated ruins are generally open to view free of charge, while the reconstructed Commonwealth Farm (Þjóðveldisbærinn) nearby runs on a seasonal, ticketed basis. Do not rely on fixed dates or prices here; check current road conditions on road.is and confirm opening times through the official Þjóðveldisbærinn Stöng listing before setting out.