Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
1
(
Sun Voyager
)
sculpture
is worthy of your attention. This
sleek contemporary portrayal
of a Viking-age ship, made of shiny silver steel by Jón Gunnar Árnason (1931-89), sits
elegantly atop the city shoreline and is fast becoming one of the most photographed of
Reykjavík's attractions.
Höfði
Borgartún • Closed to the public
From Sólfar, it's a five-minute stroll back east along Sæbraut to
Höfði
, a stocky white
wooden structure built in 1909 in Jugend style, which occupies a grassy square beside
the shore, between Sæbraut and Borgartún. Originally home of the French consul, the
house also played host to Winston Churchill in 1941 when he visited British forces
stationed in Iceland.
Although the house is best known as the location for the 1986 snap
summit
between
Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev and US President RonaldReagan, Icelanders
know it equally well for its resident
ghost
, said to be that of a young girl who poisoned
herself after being found guilty of incest with her brother. Between 1938 and 1951
the house was occupied by diplomats, including one who was so troubled by the
supernatural presence that one dispatch after another was sent to the Foreign Office in
London begging for a transfer until he finally got his way. In recent years, lights have
switched themselves on and off paintings have fallen off walls and door handles have
worked themselves loose. Today - apart from international summitry - the principal
purpose of the house is as a centre for the city's municipal functions.
Ásmundur Sveinsson Museum
Sigtún • Daily: May-Sept 10am-5pm; Oct-April 1-5pm • 1100kr •
W
artmuseumm.is
If sculpture
is your thing, you'll want to check out the domed
Ásmundur Sveinsson
Museum
, part of the Reykjavík Art Museum, a ten-minute dog-leg walk from Höfði;
first head east along Sæbraut, then south into Kringlumýrarbraut and east again into
Sigtún where you'll see the peculiar white igloo shape beyond the trees on your
right-hand side. Ásmundur Sveinsson (1893-1982) was one of the pioneers of
Icelandic sculpture, and his powerful, often provocative, work was inspired by his
country's nature and literature. During the 1920s he studied in both Stockholm and
Paris, returning to Iceland to develop his unique sculptural cubism, a style infused with
Icelandic myth and legend, which you can view here at his former home that he
designed and built with his own hands in 1942-50; he lived where the museum shop
and reception are currently located.
The museum is an uncommon shape for Reykjavík because when Ásmundur planned
it, he was experimenting with Mediterranean and North African themes, drawing
particular inspiration from the domed houses common to Greece. The crescent-shaped
building beyond reception contains examples of the sculptor's work, including several
COLD WAR HOTSPOT
Called at the suggestion of the former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev, the
Reykjavík
superpower summit
held at Höfði in 1986 aimed to discuss peace and disarmament
between the United States and the Soviet Union. Although agreement was reached on
reducing the number of medium-range and intercontinental missiles in Europe and Asia, the
thornier question of America's strategic defence initiative of shooting down missiles in space
remained a sticking point. However, the summit achieved one major goal - it brought the
world's attention to Iceland, which, in the mid-1980s, was still relatively unknown as a
destination for travellers, in effect marking the beginning of the tourist boom that Iceland is
still enjoying today.
