VESTMANNAEYJAR

town, southern Iceland, on Heima Island (Heimaey), the largest of the Vestmann Islands (Vestmannaeyjar). One of the older Icelandic settlements, it grew as a fishing village. It is almost entirely dependent upon cod fishing and processing, having been the site of Iceland's first fish-freezing plant, established in 1908. A series of disasters has afflicted the town. Often plundered by English ships in the 15th century, in 1627 it was attacked by Algerian pirates, who carried off many of the inhabitants into slavery. In 1963, when the volcanic island of Surtsey emerged from the Atlantic Ocean, the town was covered with a layer of volcanic ash. In January 1973 a 1-mile- (1.6-kilometre-) long fissure in the side of the long-dormant Helgafell Volcano began to erupt, burying the town under a rain of ash and cinder and forcing the evacuation of most of the inhabitants. When the eruption subsided in June, most of the evacuees returned and removed the thick deposits of ash that covered the town's buildings. Vestmannaeyjar subsequently made a complete recovery from this disaster. Pop. (1995 est.) 4,805.