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The fishing town Ólafsvík is situated on the western end of the Snæfellsnes peninsula in Iceland. The town has 1,008 inhabitants (31 december 2004).
Because of its situation at the entrance of the fjord Breiðafjörður, the town was the first town of Iceland to receive a licence from the Danish king to do commerce. This event took place in the 17th century.
Today, the town has a thriving fishing industry and commerce as well as services for the farmers of the area.
Concerning tourism, it is an interesting location, because it is situated at the foot of the volcano Snæfellsjökull. When driving up the road from the northern side to the pass near the glacier, the view is really surprising, because the whole coastline of the southern side of the peninsula can be seen, the weather permitting. Hiking up the glacier takes about 2 hours from the road, or you could use a snowmobile from a company in Arnarstapi.