Garðabær

Garðabær
Garðakirkja in Garðabær, Iceland
Coat of arms of Garðabær
Location of Garðabær
Region	Capital Region
Constituency	Southwest Constituency
Established	1878
Market right	1 January 1976
Mayor	Gunnar Einarsson (IP)
Area	76 km2 (29 sq mi)
Population	14,453 (2015)
Density	190.2/km2 (493/sq mi)
Municipal number	1300
Postal code(s)	210–225
Website	gardabaer.is

Garðabær (Icelandic pronunciation: ​[ˈkarðapair̥]) is a municipality in the Capital Region of Iceland.

Garðabær is a growing town in the Capital Region. Garðabær is the sixth largest town in Iceland with a population of 13,872 (Sept 1, 2013).

The site of Garðabær has been inhabited since Iceland was first settled in the 9th century. Landnámabók, the Book of Settlement, tells of two farms on the site of Garðabær: Vífilsstaðir and Skúlastaðir. The former was named after Vífill, who was a slave of Ingólfur Arnarson, the first settler of Iceland. Ingólfur gave Vífill his freedom and he made his home at Vífilsstaðir.

The only IKEA store in Iceland is located in Garðabær. The town is also home to Marel hf., the largest company on by market capitalisation.

380 studios, the TV studio for the children's television programmes Lazytown and Lazytown Extra and the headquarters for Lazytown Entertainment, is located in the village.

Among schools in the town are 7 elementary schools including Sjálandsskóli.

Sjálandsskóli was established in 2005.

The town's main sports club is Stjarnan, best known for its men's football team that plays in the Icelandic Premier League and won the competition for the first time in 2014. The club's women's football section has been even more successful; it is the currently reigning champion of the Icelandic Women's Premier League and has won four of the last six titles. The Oddur Golf Club was established in 1990 and has hosted the Icelandic Golf Championship in 2006 and the European Ladies' Amateur Team Championship in 2016. Award-winning dancer Hanna Rún Óladóttir lives in Garðabær.