Hallargarðurinn - Reykjavik, Iceland
N 64° 08.631 W 021° 56.374
27W E 454281 N 7113381
Hallargarðurinn is a historic park with one of the most beautiful gardens in Reykjavík, Iceland.
Waymark Code: WMPCB4
Location: Iceland
Date Posted: 08/08/2015
Views: 6
The marker includes text in both English and Icelandic. The English text reads:
"The Hallargarður park, made in 1953-4, was designed by Jón H. Björnsson, Iceland’s first trained landscape architect. On the initiative of Mayor Gunnar Thoroddsen, four gardens on Fríkirkjuvegur were combined to form the park, incorporating the existing garden of Fríkirkjuvegur 11.
The park is influenced by American modernism, with curves and constantly-changing vistas. The park, built only with manual tools and wheelbarrows, was completed in 1954. The garden work was supervised by Theodór Halldórsson. Originally the park had a pond with a fountain, a figure of a boy riding on the back of a swan, from the garden of Fríkirkjuvegur 11. The pavilion was also from that garden. In 1986 the park was altered, partly in accord with Jón H. Björnsson’s ideas: the pond and fountain were replaced by shrubs and flowerbeds.
To the east of the park, Fríkirkjuvegur 9 was built in 1909 for Kvennaskólinn (Reykjavík Women’s College), which is still located there (now co-educational). designed by Rögnvaldur In front of it is a sculpture, Stúlka / Girl by Ólöf Pálsdóttir. At the top of the park is the sculpture Piltur og stúlka / Lad and Lass by Ásmundur Sveinsson. At the corner of Skothúsvegur and Fríkirkjuvegur is the sculpture Adonis by Icelandic-Danish sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen.
Fríkirkjuvegur 11 was built in 1908 by entrepreneur Thor Jensen. The house was built to a high standard, with water pipes and electrical wiring, although Reykjavík did not yet have electrical or water utilities. It also had Iceland’s first parquet floor. The house was bought by a temperance society in 1939. Acquired by the City of Reykjavík in 1963, it housed the Sports and Leisure Division until the building was sold in 2007."
Group that erected the marker: City of Reykjavik
Address of where the marker is located. Approximate if necessary:
Fríkirkjuvegur 9 & 11
Reykjavik, Iceland
URL of a web site with more information about the history mentioned on the sign: Not listed
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