Einar Benediktsson - Reykjavik, Iceland
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denben
N 64° 08.789 W 021° 54.340
27W E 455935 N 7113650
The larger-than-life statue of Einar Benediktsson by Icelandic sculptor Ásmundur Sveinsson stands on the grounds of Höfði house in Reykjavik, Iceland.
Waymark Code: WMWT95
Location: Iceland
Date Posted: 10/10/2017
Views: 6
Höfði house is best known for hosting the 1986 Reykjavík Summit meeting of Presidents Ronald Reagan of the United States and Mikhail Gorbachev of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. That was a step to the end of the Cold War. Höfði was the exclusive residence of poet and businessman Einar Benediktsson for a few years.
The marker reads:
Einar Benediktsson (1864-1940), poet and entrepreneur lived in Höfði between 1914 and 1917. Cosmopolitan and ideologist, he traveled to many countries and presented many innovative ideas for social reforms. He was considered among the leading poets of the Icelandic nation. His poetry is powerful and passionate, like the man himself, it is in a neo-romantic style with strong images where the individual and his soul are at the forefront, but also the magnificent nature of the country.
The sculpture of Ásmundur Sveinsson (1893-1982) shows the poet standing near the harp. Asmund wanted to show that Einar was great in everything. The Bragi Otgáf company bought the statue, built in Klambratun, in 1964 and gave it to the city of Reykjavík. It was transferred to Höfði House in the summer of 2015. The Ministry of Education and Culture, Eimskip, Hvalur hf., Landsvirkjun, Mjólkyrsamsalan, Síminn and a group of supporters encouraged this relocation.
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