Monastery

Viðey was inhabited from soon after the settlement of Iceland around 900 AD. In 1225 a monastery was founded on the island by Þorvaldur Gissurarson, with the assistance of scholar/chieftain Snorri Sturluson. The first monastery in the southern quarter, it soon grew wealthy. At its zenith it was the second-richest monastery in Iceland, owning up to 116 estates.
In 1539 the monastery came to a dramatic end when it was raided by Danish soldiers, when the Reformation was imposed on the Icelandic church. 

For the next two centuries Viðey belonged to the royal estate of Bessastaðir. A home for paupers was located on the island.