Photo by Reykholt, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
🇮🇸 Iceland · South Iceland / Golden Circle (Laugarvatn)
Photo by Reykholt, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
🇮🇸 Iceland · South Iceland / Golden Circle (Laugarvatn)
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📅 Established
1929
✓ Verified on 2026-07-28
Laugarvatn Fontana is a geothermal bath and steam-sauna complex on the shore of Lake Laugarvatn in South Iceland's Golden Circle, at Hverabraut 1. Steam baths were first built directly over the site's natural geothermal vents in 1929, when the area was designated an education center and the hot springs became an amenity for the town's school; the modern Fontana facility continues that practice today, with wooden steam saunas sitting above active steam vents and pools reported in the 36–40°C range. The site is also known for geothermal-baked rye bread, cooked using the ground's natural heat. As of writing, the geothermal baths are closed for renovation until August 1, 2026, though the bakery tours continue to operate.
Laugarvatn has been used for geothermally heated bathing since around the Icelandic settlement/saga era, but the site's formal development began in 1929, when Iceland's minister of education designated Laugarvatn an education center for South Iceland and small bathhouses were first built directly over a geyser — the same design principle the modern Fontana steam bath still uses.
Fontana is known for hverabrauð — rye bread baked underground using geothermal heat — a traditional Icelandic method of using the earth's natural heat for cooking that the site demonstrates for visitors via daily bakery tours.