Have you ever heard about the notorious murderer Axlar-Björn - Iceland's only serial killer?
In this travel blog, I am going to tell you about this mad person who murdered around 9-18 people, that we know of, especially people who passed by his farm Öxi, and visitors at his farm, on the south side of the Snæfellsnes peninsula in West Iceland.
Top photo: the Axlar-Bjarnardys' burial mound sign
The information sign about Axlar-Björn at the viewing point close to Öxl farm, where he lived
Axlar-Björn, by the end of the 16th century, robbed his victims of their possessions and threw some of the bodies into a pond, Íglutjörn, close by, the stories tell us.
More human remains were found on his land, but Axlar-Björn claimed that he had found them dead and couldn't be bothered to take them to the church to be buried. He "only" confessed to killing 9 people.
According to Þjóðsögur Jóns Árnasonar - the Compilation of Folklore of Jón Árnason, then Axlar-Björn killed many of his victims with an axe which he had found under a rock on Mt. Axlarhyrna above his farm.
He had had a dream about the location of this axe when a stranger appeared to him in his dream and told him to fetch this axe, which would make him famous (it for sure made him infamous, so the dream came true).
The Axlar-Bjarnardys' burial mound sign
The axe was of such a nature that when holding it, Axlar-Björn went into a killer mode.
The stranger in the dream had also offered Axlar-Björn cut-up meat on a plate. Axlar-Björn ate 18 pieces of meat, thinking one was more delicious than the other, but he got nauseated at the sight of the 19th piece and stopped eating.
This was a foretoken of the 18 people Axlar-Björn was later to kill, even though he only confessed to 9 murders.
I have translated the story of Axlar-Björn in Þjóðsögur Jóns Árnasonar - the Compilation of Folklore of Jón Árnason, but I will spare you some of the horrific details; it is such a bloody and sad story.
This is not blood, but iron-rich mineral water at Ölkelda on the Snæfellsnes peninsula
I will tell you, though, that his mother is said to have craved human blood while she was pregnant with him. This is what the folklore tells us:
"A man named Pétur, from Hraunhreppur in the Mýrar district, married in Breiðuvík on Snæfellsnes early in the days of Bishop Guðbrandur. He and his wife already had two children, a son and a daughter, named Magnús and Sigríður.
After that, Pétur's wife became pregnant again. It is said that she became reserved and cold, and she felt she could not get through this unless she drank human blood. She struggled with this longing for a long time without anyone knowing, but in the end, she could not hide it from her husband.
Because the couple’s relations were good and Pétur could do nothing to refuse her, in order to provide her with what she desired, he pricked his foot and let her drink his blood.
When this craving was appeased, the woman was troubled by various unwholesome dreams that could not be fitly told; she told her maid that she feared the child she carried would be different from other men and perhaps even a monstrous thing."
(Translated into English from Þjóðsögur Jóns Árnasonar - RHR)
Mt. Knarrarfjall, where Björn grew up with Ormur the Rich at Knörr farm
Axlar-Björn's real name was Björn Pétursson (1555-1596), but he got the nickname Axlar-Björn from his farm at Öxl, which in the genitive form in Icelandic is "Axlar".
Öxl forna, the old farm, is located in Breiðuvík below Mt. Axlarhyrna and above the Búðahraun lava field.
You will find an information sign about Axlar-Björn at a viewing point near the Öxl farm where he lived. Here is the exact location of Öxl on Google Maps. You can stay for the night at Öxl as it is now a guesthouse.
This is what turf houses looked like in the olden days
Axlar-Björn was raised at the farm Knörr, though in the vicinity, from the age of 5, and that is where he committed his first murder at 14. He hid his poor victim (a farmhand) in the manure pit in the cowshed.
Axlar-Björn's parents had met at Knörr, where they were both farmhands at the farm of Ormur Þorleifsson the Rich. He was called "the Rich" because he owned many farms and plots of land in this area of the Snæfellsnes peninsula.
Ormur was a ruthless man, and a rhyme tells us that nobody was worse than him. He was benevolent toward Björn's parents, though, and he had built the farm Húsanes for them after they got married.
Mt. Knarrarfjall
When Axlar-Björn was five years old, Ormur offered to raise him at his farm, Knörr, after seeing him fighting with his brother on a reef close by.
Ormur had wanted to take his brother, Magnús (6), into fosterage, but their mother offered him Axlar-Björn instead, because "he was unruly, but of good stuff, and she hoped that at Ormur’s he was more likely to become a proper man," the folklore tells us.
Well, we know that wish, unfortunately, didn't come true, and he ended up committing his first murder (that we know of) on this farm. Axlar-Björn became friends with Ormur's son, Guðmundur, who later gave him the farm Öxl.
By the information sign close to Öxl farm - this must be Mt. Axlarhyrna
Axlar-Björn later on tried to kill Guðmundur with an axe when he stopped at Öxl farm and asked for a drink. Axlar-Björn only managed to wound Guðmundur's horse, but Guðmundur fled unharmed.
There are different stories about how this serial killer was found out. We read in Jón Árnason's Folklore that people had begun to wonder about the increasing number of horses on his farm.
Here is the story of one of the guests, who was able to escape from Öxl farm:
"It was said that one guest from up north stayed with Björn and was shown to a bed up front on the farm. When he lay down, he could not sleep, so he got up. He, by chance, put his hand under the bed and found a dead man.
Snæfellsjökull glacier in the vicinity of Öxl - it is related to another tragic story from the Settlement age
He was greatly shocked, but decided to put the corpse into the bed and cover it with the bedclothes. He himself lay down under the bed where the dead man had been.
When about a third of the night remained, Björn and his wife came into the room.
Björn had the axe in his hand and drove it through the one lying in the bed, for he intended it should be the guest, and he should tell no news.
Björn’s wife said: “Why are his death movements so small or absent?”
Björn answered: “He winced; he was tired, but I hit him firmly, woman.”(Translated into English from Þjóðsögur Jóns Árnasonar - the Compilation of Folklore by Jón Árnason - RHR).
Icelanders lived in turf houses in the olden days
And the folklore also tells us that two siblings had arrived at his farm, and the brother was able to hide when Axlar-Björn murdered his sister, and escape.
Another account, not from this folklore, tells us that the brother was killed, and gives us very scary details of how his sister was able to escape with Axlar-Björn chasing her.
The story of the brother's escape led to Axlar-Björn's apprehension. The brother reported Axlar-Björn, and when the district administrator went searching for him, he found him at Knörr.
Axlar-Björn was wearing the clothes of one of his victims (at least), which Ingimundur, the district administrator, recognized as the clothes of his farmhand Sigurður, who had left Ingimundur two years earlier.
At Laugarbrekka
Axlar-Björn admitted to having murdered 9 people, and was sentenced to a horrible death, maybe fitting to his crimes, but a very cruel death all the same.
Both Axlar-Björn and his wife were found guilty at the Laugarbrekkuþing assembly and sentenced to death. Her punishment was postponed until after she had given birth.
At Laugarbrekka, which is west of Hellnar, you can visit farm and church ruins. The assembly was located a little south of the farm, at Þinghamar.
Axlar-Björn was executed by one of his close kinsmen, Ólafur, in 1596. All of his limbs were broken with a sledgehammer while he was still alive, and then he was beheaded. He was cut into pieces and put on poles!
Laugarbrekka with the backdrop of Snæfellsjökull glacier - I read that at least 6 people were executed at Laugarbrekka
The following is what the Folklore of Jón Árnason tells us about the execution of Axlar-Björn:
"A young man named Ólafur, a close kinsman of Björn, was chosen to break Björn’s bones and behead him.
Björn's limbs were broken with a wooden sledgehammer with a soft surface or a hole beneath, so the torment would be greater.
Ruins at Laugabrekka farm
Björn met his death and torments like a man; he did not cry nor whimper.
Once, while his bones were being broken, he said: “Bones seldom break well on soft surfaces, Ólafur kinsman.”
When all his limbs were broken, his wife said to those present: “There is little left of my Björn’s limbs.” Björn answered: “There is yet one left, and it would be better off,” and was then beheaded."
At Laugarbrekka
Here is what the Annals of 1400-1800 tell us:
"Björn was found guilty of murdering 9 people, to which he confessed. Some of them he killed to rob them, and he killed poor people, who witnessed him murdering the wealthier people. And his wife helped him when he lacked the strength. She put a string around their neck and knocked them out with a sledgehammer.
These dead people he buried in a hayrick and in the cowshed. More bones were found than he had confessed to murdering, and he said that he had found them dead, and couldn't be bothered to take them to the church.
He was sentenced in the Laugarbrekkuþing assembly. First, his limbs were broken with sledgehammers, then he was beheaded, and then cut up into pieces and put up on poles. Jón Jónsson was the superior judge. His wife was not executed as she was pregnant".
(Translated into English from Annálar 1400-1800 Skarðsannáll), page 180 - RHR)
One of the murals in Hellissandur village tells us about Axlar-Björn
Take into account that many different stories have been told about Axlar-Björn, and people have added "juicy stuff" to the stories, so I am only telling you what I read in Þjóðsögur Jóns Árnasonar and one Annal. And I have read that Þórdís (Steinunn) might even have been innocent.
Axlar-Björn was so dangerous that people feared he would return as a ghost and hunt them, so his remains were buried in 3 cairns to prevent that.
You will notice a cairn (stone pile) and parking by Hellnavegur road.
Customary cairns were stacked to show the way here in Iceland, but this cairn is one of the burial spots of the most notorious serial killer in the history of Iceland.
Dreplakolludys burial mound
The three cairns were located on Laugarholt by the parking area, but only Dreplakolludys cairn remains; the others seem to have been destroyed during road construction and quarrying.
It is a pity, as this is a part of our Icelandic history. The last cairn of Axlar-Björn has now been declared as protected.
You will find the remaining cairn and the information sign on the south side of the Snæfellsnes peninsula. Here is the exact location of Dreplakolludys on the map.
It takes 2.5 hours to drive to Hellnar
To visit this area, it is best to rent a car in Reykjavík and drive up to the Snæfellsnes peninsula. Plan on spending a couple of days there, as there is so much to see and do.
From Útnesvegur road number 574, turn on Hellnavegur road leading towards Hellnar, and you will find the cairn on your right-hand side by the road.
Sveinn skotti - the son of Axlar-Björn
Here on Barðaströnd in Skottagjóta rift, Sveinn skotti was hanged
The wife of Axlar-Björn, Þórdís Ólafsdóttir (the Folklore of Jón Árnason calls her Steinunn), was his accomplice, but she was not executed with Axlar-Björn as she was pregnant. She was whipped 3 times sometime after she had given birth and then released.
Here is what another folklore, Sveinn skotti in Þjóðsögur Jóns Árnasonar, tells us about what happened after the execution:
"It is said of Steinunn, the wife of Axlar-Björn, that she went north to Skottastaðir in Svartárdalur and gave birth there to a son named Sveinn skotti...
Reiðskörð and Skottagjóta
...When Sveinn became old enough, he travelled widely around the country, both stealing and roaming; he fathered children in many places and was a woman-chaser; he was known mostly only for evil, but he was not a brave or strong man.
He was whipped in Þingeyjarsýsla county for theft and other misdeeds, and again at the Alþingi in 1646, he was sentenced to whipping, as much as he could bear, for the same offenses, and in addition, he was to lose one ear."
The folklore is much longer...
Cows grazing at Rauðsdalur farm - Reiðskörð in the distance
Sveinn skotti seems to have inherited his parents' evil blood. He was hanged in 1648 after an attempted rape of the farmer's wife at Rauðsdalur on Barðaströnd on the southern part of the Westfjord region, where I once stayed for the night.
The farmer was not at home, but the farmer's wife had Sveinn Skottti tied up; he was arrested, sentenced to death, and hanged here.
The folklore tells us that, for a long time, it was believed that the area where Skotti was hanged was haunted, and that, by his power, Reverend Guðbrandur Sigurðsson from Brjánslækur perished in Rauðuskörð 132 years later.
The beautiful Reiðskörð on a sunny day
Reiðskörð, also called Rauðuskörð, where Sveinn skotti was hanged, is one of the most beautiful places I have seen in Iceland.
I was lucky enough to spend many hours there alone one summer, accompanied only by the sheep and birds. Little did I know that in this beautiful spot, the son of Axlar-Björn and two others had been executed.
The view from Reiðskörð is of the Snæfellsnes peninsula and Snæfellsjökull glacier
I think it is better to know such facts after you have left. I.e., I knew that this was an execution place, but not that I was sitting on top of it!
See also my travel blog: The Spectacular Reiðskörð on Barðaströnd in the Westfjords of Iceland.
And, Sveinn's son, Gísli hrókur, was hanged as well at Dyrhólaþing in South Iceland in 1670 for theft and other evil doings.
A road map of the Snæfellsnes peninsula
I have written a 5-part travel guide of the Snæfellsnes peninsula if you want to know where to stop while visiting this beautiful part of West Iceland.
Have a lovely time visiting the Snæfellsnes peninsula, and sorry about telling you such a horrible story!
Further reading:
Þjóðsögur Jóns Árnasonar - the Compilation of Folklore of Jón Árnason - Axlar-Björn - Volume II, pages 116-120. Frásögn séra Sveins Níelssonar frá Staðarstað.
Þjóðsögur Jóns Árnasonar - Sveinn skotti - Volume II, pages 120-121
Annálar 1400-1800, page 180
Kortasjá - a map of execution sites in Iceland
ISMUS - stories about Axlar-Björn in Icelandic
Hversu marga drap fjöldamorðinginn Axlar-Björn í raun og veru?
Hi, my name is Regína and I was born and raised here in Iceland. Since 2013 I have written 320 travel blogs about various interesting places to visit in Iceland. I hope you enjoy reading my travel-blog :)
