The most isolated house in the world is located on a small islet, you will be surprised to know what it is used for

Let's imagine the scene. An island lost in the middle of the ocean. Large cliffs hit by violent waves, at the mercy of winds and storms. A place that can only be reached by boat and accessible, only, by a rope located on a kind of natural pier.

Not a single inhabitant and, however, a single house with white walls and a slate roof stands on one of its green and winding slopes. The dream of those who, sometimes, are hit by stress, right?

Well, that place exists. It is called Ellidaey, and it is a tiny islet of 0.45 square kilometres, a nature reserve, located in the small Vestman archipelago, in the south of Iceland. Only that its use is not related to spiritual retreats, literary inspirations or romantic longings. Let's unravel the enigma.

Urban legends: a famous singer, a zombie apocalypse and a religious fan

The only building that Ellidaey has is a house in a perfect state of conservation, but without electricity, which is supplied with water by a rainforest collection system.

Local legend says that it was built 300 years ago by five families who lived on the island and who were engaged in cattle breeding, hunting and fishing. According to this story, in the thirties of the last century, its last inhabitants left Ellidaey.

And then, the house became the most lonely in the world... But the shots weren't going around. In 2000, the house was the subject of another controversy when the then Icelandic Prime Minister, Davíð Oddsson, announced his intention to give it to the singer Björk, of whom he said he had done more for Iceland than most of his compatriots.

Actually, it was a misunderstanding. The president was referring to a part of the Breiðafjörður fjord that has the same name. But in the collective imagination, especially for the artist's followers, the idea that this is Björk's house was fixed. Nothing could be further from the truth.

And there are still other rumors about home ownership. The most crazy, which was built by an eccentric billionaire who planned to retire to the island to protect himself from a zombie apocalypse. Or that it was occupied by a hermit and religious fanatic.

A refuge for strawberry hunters

The reality? The mysterious house was built in 1954 and is owned, like the rest of the island, by an association that is dedicated to organizing excursions for about 5,000 American dollars to hunt Atlantic punch (Fratercula arctica).

It is an indigenous sea bird in a vulnerable situation that, however, is not protected by the Icelandic Government, which allows it to be hunted. The hiring of the excursion would give the right to shoot a hundred little mudges.

The house would serve as a logistical base and storage of food, rifles and camouflage suits. A sad destiny that finally reveals the mystery of its existence.

A vulnerable bird that could end up in danger of extinction

Since 2015, the Atlantic murrel, which is part of Iceland's gastronomic culture, has been classified by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature as 'vulnerable'.

Its population has decreased massively since 2000. In two decades, almost two million specimens have been lost in Iceland (just over five million survive).

One of the main causes is the proliferation of foreign hunters, especially all the British, who travel to the Nordic country to kill these birds for fun and to stop their corpses as a trophy.

And to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), to include this species in the category of global protection. Necessary actions before it's too late for these iconic and peculiar birds.