This sign is located next to a monument honoring Sigridur Tomasdottir near Gullfoss.
The English portion of this sign reads:
"SIGRIDUR IN BRATTHOLT
Sigridur Tomasdottir was born in Braattholt
24th of February 1871, living there all her life.
She was the second-eldest of 13 children of Margret
Thordardottir, a housewife and Tomas Tomasson, a
farmer in Brattholt. Seven of the children reached
adulthood. Sigridur soon became a leader of the
sibling group, since her elder sister and only brother
left home at an early age. The sisters who remained
behind felt that Sigridur was often rather strict.
Sigridur in Brattholt was of average height and
strongly built. She was considered good looking in
her younger years and had thick and beautiful blond
hair. She was hard-working and early in her life,
mainly worked outdoors.
Tourists started to visit Gullfoss around 1875. Prior
to that time the waterfall was hard to reach because
of rough terrain and impassable rivers. Sigridur in
Brattholt and her sisters often guided visitors to
Gullfoss building the first trail that led down to the
waterfall.
Sigridur in Brattholt died in the autumn of 1957, in
her 87th year. The memorial which stands here was
erected in 1979. The picture on the memorila (sic) is made
by sculptor Rikardur Jonsson."
Wikipedia's article about the waterfalls (
visit link) tells us the truth about the legend:
"During the first half of the 20th century and some years into the late 20th century, there was much speculation about using Gullfoss to generate electricity. During this period, the waterfall was rented indirectly by its owners, Tómas Tómasson and Halldór Halldórsson, to foreign investors. However, the investors' attempts were unsuccessful, partly due to lack of money. The waterfall was later sold to the state of Iceland. Even after it was sold, there were plans to utilize Hvítá, which would have changed the waterfall forever. This was not done, and now the waterfall is protected.
Sigríður Tómasdóttir, the daughter of Tómas Tómasson was determined to preserve the waterfall's condition and even threatened to throw herself into the waterfall. Although it is widely believed, the very popular story that Sigríður did save the waterfall from use is not true. A stone memorial to Sigriður, located above the falls, depicts her profile."
There is even a novel written about Sigríður Tómasdóttir which raises the legend to incredible epic proportions, The Gullfoss Legends
by Billy Bob Buttons. One of the photos with this Waymark features the cover of the novel. Good Reads (
visit link) informs us about the novel:
"Over a century ago, a twelve year old girl walked 120 kms to Reykjavik to persuade the King to help her. Her journey lasted two weeks; two weeks of wild snow storms, skin-blistering winds and deadly clouds of volcanic ash. This is her story.
The British plan to put a dam on Gullfoss, a magnificent waterfall in Iceland, but Sigríður plans to stop them. Setting off to see the King, she must face scalding pools of hot mud, a scary wolf-man and the most evil of assassins, the ruthless Scarecrow, who must stop her at all costs.
Based on the Gullfoss Legends, this is a story for anybody who has battled but refused to give up."