Explore the real places in Belfast that appear in Burial Rites by Hannah Kent. Each location on the map shows what happens there in the novel, the real history of the place, and what's there today. Featured locations include Kornsá Farm, Illugastaðir, Hvítserkur, Kirkjuhvammur (Hvammstangi Area), Þingeyrar Church and 4 more.
Vatnsdalur valley — Agnes's final home
Kornsá is the farm where Agnes Magnúsdóttir is sent to await execution. District officer Jón Jónsson, his wife Margrét and their daughters Steina and Lauga are horrified to house a murderess. Over the winter Agnes works alongside the family and slowly tells her story, especially to Margrét, who comes to see another side of her.
Kornsá is a historic farm in the Vatnsdalur valley and was the home of the district officer Björn Blöndal in 1829, who was the real-life model for the farm's role in Agnes's confinement. The farm has been occupied for centuries and is one of the principal estates of the valley.
Kornsá is still a working farm and private property in Vatnsdalur. The valley's scenery can be viewed from the public road.
Vatnsnes peninsula — Scene of the murders
At Illugastaðir, the remote croft of Natan Ketilsson, Natan and Pétur Jónsson are murdered and the farm set on fire in March 1828. Agnes, Fridrik Sigurðsson and Sigga are implicated. Agnes recounts the night to Tóti and Margrét, which shapes how they come to understand her role and the jealousy, betrayal and violence involved.
Illugastaðir on the Vatnsnes peninsula was the site of the real 1828 murders of Natan Ketilsson and Pétur Jónsson. The killings led to the last public execution in Iceland in 1830. The croft was later abandoned.
The ruins at Illugastaðir lie on the coast of Vatnsnes, which is known for its seal-watching. A memorial and information sign mark the story, and the area is accessible by road and trail.
Visit: Illugastaðir (Vatnsnes) (historic site)
Vatnsnes coast — Famous basalt sea stack
Hvítserkur is not a named scene in the novel, but it marks the same wild Vatnsnes coast where Agnes's story ends. The peninsula's bleak shoreline echoes the isolation felt by Agnes and those who judge her.
Hvítserkur is a 15-metre basalt stack off the east coast of Vatnsnes, shaped by erosion. It is tied to Icelandic folklore of a troll turned to stone.
It is a popular tourist stop with a viewing platform and car park, and it hosts nesting seabirds.
Visit: Hvítserkur (landmark)
Húnaflói coast — District trade and authority
Hvammstangi lies near the region where Agnes is held and where district authorities such as Björn Blöndal decide her fate. Officials arrange her transfer to Kornsá and manage the preparations for her execution.
Hvammstangi developed as a trading post on Miðfjörður in the late 19th century. Earlier, district matters were handled by local officials like the sýslumaður.
Hvammstangi is a small fishing town. It hosts the Icelandic Seal Centre, which tells the area's natural and cultural history.
Visit: Icelandic Seal Centre (museum)
Near Húnavatn — Historic church and monastery site
Þingeyrar represents the church life in the region in which Tóti, the young assistant reverend, tries to give Agnes spiritual comfort. His visits to Kornsá and his anguish over his task are central to the novel.
Þingeyrar was the site of a Benedictine monastery founded in 1133 and was an ancient assembly site. The current stone church dates from 1877.
The church is open to visitors in summer and is known for its altarpiece and its setting by Húnavatn lake.
Visit: Þingeyrarkirkja (landmark)
Vatnsnes — Local community and poverty
The novel's rural world of poor farmsteads and shared labour is typified by places like Stóra-Borg, where farmhands and servants such as Agnes lived. Agnes's childhood of abandonment and servitude is shaped in such farms.
Stóra-Borg is a historic farm in the Vatnsnes area, and such farms were the backbone of Iceland's agrarian society in the 19th century.
The area is farmland with scattered farms and is private property.
Near Blönduós — Site of the last execution in Iceland
Þrístapar is where Agnes and Fridrik are beheaded on 12 January 1830, ending the novel. Tóti stays with Agnes to the end, and the family at Kornsá mourns her passing.
Þrístapar is the site of the last public execution in Iceland, when Agnes Magnúsdóttir and Friðrik Sigurðsson were beheaded in 1830. It is a small hill near the Vatnsdalur road.
A marked historic site with an information sign and a memorial. It is open to the public and reached by a short walk from the road.
Visit: Þrístapar (historic site)
Húnavatnssýsla — Regional centre
Blönduós is the main settlement near the novel's events and the district where the official proceedings take place. Travel to and from it is part of the story's physical and legal landscape.
Blönduós was a trading post that grew into a town in the 19th century at the mouth of the Blanda river.
The town has a museum, the Textile Museum, and the Icelandic Women's history exhibition in the Ásgarður Hall.
Visit: Textile Museum (Heimilisiðnaðarsafnið) (museum)
Vatnsdalur — Landscape around Kornsá
The hillocks of Vatnsdalur surround Kornsá and set the scene for Agnes's journey in. Her walks and work outdoors, and the snow-bound isolation, create the book's stark atmosphere.
Vatnsdalshólar is a field of thousands of small hills in Vatnsdalur formed by a prehistoric landslide. It features in the Vatnsdæla saga.
The area is a protected natural feature and is popular with hikers and drivers.
Visit: Vatnsdalshólar (park)
More by Hannah Kent: All Hannah Kent books