Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
enemies. Little did that help, however, and in the same year, Arason was beheaded and
the Reformation, taking place across mainland Europe, began in Iceland.
Two centuries of peace ensued and in 1751 Viðey was given to the royal treasurer
and sheriff,
Skúli Magnússon
, with the
Viðeyjarstofa
, Iceland's first stone building,
being built as his residence four years later. In 1817, the island passed into the
ownership of the President of the High Court,
Magnús Stephensen
, who brought
Iceland's only printing press to Viðey, further enhancing the tiny place's claim as the
country's main centre of culture since the establishment of the Augustinian monastery
here. Following several more changes of ownership, the City of Reykjavík finally
bought the island in 1983.
1
Around the island
A short walk up the path from the jetty where the ferry deposits you is
Viðeyjarstofa
,
Skúli Magnússon's residence, now a modest
café
. Designed in simple Rococo style by
the architect who worked on the Amalienborg royal palace in Copenhagen, its outer
walls are made of basalt and sandstone while the interior is of Danish brick and timber.
Standing next to the café is Iceland's second-oldest
church
, consecrated in 1774, and
worth a glance inside for its original interior furnishings and Skúli's grave beneath
the altar. Walk east of here to the site of the old fort,
Virkið
, of which nothing now
remains, to see the Skúli Magnússon
monument
(he died here in 1794) and
Danadys
(Danes' Grave), the final resting place for a number of Danish citizens who lived on the
island over the centuries.
The Imagine Peace Tower
To the left of the jetty, in the opposite direction to Viðeyjarstofa and the church, the
unusual wishing-well structure you can see is the
Imagine Peace Tower
. Conceived by
Yoko Ono as a beacon to world peace and inscribed with the words “imagine peace”
in 24 languages, the structure emits a powerful tower of light every night between
October 9 (John Lennon's birthday) and December 8 (the anniversary of his death),
illuminating the Reykjavík sky.
Walks from the jetty
There's little else to do on Viðey other than enjoy the spectacular views of the mainland
and take a stroll on one of the many
paths
that lead around the island; allow at least
two hours to walk all the way round. From Viðeyjarstofa, a road heads right beyond
the island's schoolhouse to the easternmost point, from where a path takes over,
following the south coast back towards the ferry jetty, skirting a protected area (closed
May & June) that's home to thousands of nesting birds. Alternatively, from the
easternmost point, a track leads back along the north coast past the restaurant and out
to the northwestern part of the island, Vesturey, a peninsula connected to the main
island by the small isthmus, Eiði.
While in the western part of the island, keep an eye out for the
Áfangar
, an alfresco
exhibit by the American sculptor Richard Serra, consisting of nine pairs of basalt
columns (now covered in bird mess) arranged around Vesturey: when viewed from the
correct angle, they frame landmarks visible on the mainland.
ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE
By ferry
Viðey is easily accessible from Sundahöfn
harbour, northeast of Laugardalur, itself reached by bus #5
from Hlemmur (see p.73). From the harbour, the ferry
(mid-May to Sept daily every hour between 11.15pm and
5.15pm; 1000kr return;
W
elding.is/videy) takes just five
minutes. Between mid-May and September there's also a
daily sailing to Viðey at noon from the main harbour in
Reykjavík.
