Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
1
Dómkirkjan
Lækjargata 14a • Mon-Fri 10am-4.30pm • Free
Reykjavík's Lutheran cathedral, the
Dómkirkjan
is a Neoclassical stone structure
shrouded against the weather in corrugated iron. It was built between 1787 and
1796 after Christian VII of Denmark scrapped the Catholic bishoprics of Hólar
in the north, and Skálholt in the south, in favour of a Lutheran diocese in what
was fast growing into Iceland's main centre of population. The church may be
plain on the outside, but venture inside and you'll discover a beautiful interior:
perfectly designed arched windows punctuate the unadorned white-painted walls
at regular intervals, giving an impression of complete architectural harmony. The
cathedral is now deemed too small for great gatherings and services of state, and
the roomier Hallgrímskirkja is preferred for state funerals and other such well-
attended functions, although the opening of parliament is still marked with a
service in the Dómkirkjan followed by a short procession along Kirkjustræti to
the Alþingishúsið.
Aðalstræti
From the southwestern corner of Austurvöllur, Kirkjustræti runs the short distance
to Reykjavík's oldest street,
Aðalstræti
, which follows the route taken in the late
ninth century by Ingólfur Arnarson from his farm at the southern end of the street
down to the sea. In addition to the remains of a Viking-age farmhouse on display
inside the Landnámssýning in museum, Aðalstræti also holds Reykjavík's
oldest
surviving building
, a squat timber structure at no.10. It dates back to 1752, and was
formerly a weaving shed, a bishop's residence and the former home of Skúli
Magnússon, High Sheriff of Iceland, who encouraged the development of craft
industries here. On the opposite side of the street, a few steps north towards the sea
outside the present no. 9, is Ingólfur Arnarson's freshwater well,
Ingólfsbrunnur
,
now glassed over for posterity, which was discovered by fluke when the city council
carried out roadworks here in 1992.
Landnámssýningin
Aðalstræti 16 • Daily 10am-5pm • 1100kr •
W
reykjavik871.is
he
Landnámssýningin
(Settlement Exhibition), whose centrepiece is the extensive
ruins of a
Viking-age farmhouse
, is
one of Iceland's most remarkable museums.
Housed in a purpose-built hall directly beneath Aðalstræti, the structure's oval-
shaped stone walls, excavated in 2001, enclose a sizeable living space of 85 square
metres with a central hearth as the focal point. Dating the farmhouse has been
relatively straightforward, since the layer of volcanic ash which fell across Iceland
following a powerful eruption in around 871 AD lies just beneath the building; it's
estimated, therefore, that people lived here between 930 and 1000. As you wander
around the exhibition, look out for the animal spine, probably that of a horse or
cow, buried under part of the farmhouse's western wall as a talisman to ward of evil
spirits, a common practice during the Viking period. The exhibition's wall space is
given over to panoramic views of forest and scrubland to help give a realistic
impression of what Reykjavík would have looked like at the time of the Settlement.
Indeed, when the first settlers arrived in the area, the hills were covered in birch
woods. However, just one hundred years later, the birch had all but disappeared,
felled to make way for grazing land or burnt for charcoal needed for iron-smelting.
Well-conceived computer graphics cleverly overlay the wallprints and show
ghost-like characters going about their daily chores. Ongoing excavation work
outside the museum at the corner of Kirkjustræti and Tjarnargata has unearthed
traces of eight iron-smelting furnaces and a charcoal pit, also from the 870s, where
bog iron was used to produce various goods.
