Harbor.Stykkisholmur is a town of about 1,100 people on the northern shore of the Snæfellsnes Peninsula. It is a centre of service and commerce in the area. The first proper development for the town, however, came in 1550, with the creation of a trading post. Trading posts were uncommon in Iceland at the time due to the dangers and distances involved with travelling across the Atlantic, but Stykkisholmur’s natural harbour made it possible.The settlement grew further with the beginning of the Danish Trade Monopoly over Iceland, starting in 1602 and not ending until near the end of the 18th Century.