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Only a few kilometers away from the south shores of Iceland,
lies the village of Skogar along the Southern Ring Road.
It is a popular summer-resort center surrounded by unusual
scenic beauty. The breath-taking view of Skogafoss waterfall
and scenic surroundings and the snow-capped heights of two
towering glaciers are Skogar's chief summer attractions.
There are two settlements by this name. One is Ytri-Skσgar
(outer or western Skogar) and the other Eystri-Skogar (eastern
Skogar), located at a short distance from each other. Ytri-Skogar,
commonly referred to as Skogar, is the main settlement.
It is an old farm and has a church from 1890. It is located
between the Skoga and Kverna rivers.
The greatest attraction of Skoar is of course the beautiful
60-metre high Skogafoss waterfall in the river Skoga. Like
the legends of buried treasures of Egill Skallagrimsson
in Mosfell near Reykjavik and Ketilbjorn in Mosfell near
Skalholt, there is a similar legend about the settler ήrasi
who is believed to have buried his chest of gold under the
Skogafoss waterfall. The next attraction is the interesting
local folk museum with a collection of over 6000 artefacts
and examples of various types of dwellings in Iceland since
the early times. The museum also has an old turf farmhouse,
where guests can experience the standards of living in Iceland
in past centuries.
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