October 24, 2025, 3:25 pm | Read time: 3 minutes
A white house standing alone on a rugged island with steep cliffs, surrounded by nothing but lush green grass and the roaring sea: When the first photos of Elliðaey circulated on the internet a few years ago, the building on this tiny Icelandic island quickly earned the nickname “world’s loneliest house.” But who actually built it, and do people really live there? TRAVELBOOK has the answers.
The island of Elliðaey is located about 4 miles south of the Icelandic mainland and is part of the Vestmannaeyjar archipelago (known as the Westman Islands in English). According to a report by the British newspaper “Mirror,” it was around 2010 when photos of this picturesque spot spread online, sparking a real hype. Speculation quickly began about how long the “loneliest house” had been there and who owned it.
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Wild Theories About the World’s Loneliest House
One theory suggests the house was built by a billionaire who planned to move to the remote island in the event of a zombie apocalypse. Others believed a religious hermit lived there. Another rumor claimed that Iceland’s government built the house for Icelandic singer Björk and gifted it to her. Some even asserted that the house didn’t exist at all but was Photoshopped into the images before publication.
But none of this is true, as the “Mirror” further reports. In fact, the house’s origin story is far less spectacular than assumed. It was built in 1953 by the Elliðaey Hunting Association as a base for hunting puffins, which feed on the abundant fish in the waters around the island and are found there in large numbers.
No one lives there permanently. Apparently, there is neither electricity nor running water or sanitation facilities. However, there is a sauna on the property, which is operated by a natural rainwater collection system.
Once, the remote island was indeed inhabited, as the online travel magazine “Norr” reports. Three hundred years ago, five families lived on Elliðaey, sustaining themselves through livestock farming, fishing, and puffin hunting. However, the last residents left the island in 1930. Today, it is officially designated as a nature reserve by the Icelandic government, and the house is occasionally used by scientists for research purposes.
Visiting the World’s Loneliest House
Those who would like to take a look at the world’s loneliest house and photograph it can do so on guided boat tours. These are organized as day trips by several providers from the main island of Vestmannaeyjar, Heimaey.