Reykjavík Grapevine - 27.06.2003, Page 28

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Bertel Þorvaldssen
Denmark gave Iceland its first constitution in 1874, but
their generosity did not end there, for in the same
year they also donated this statue of sculptor
Þorvaldssen, made by the artist himself. It
was the first statue in the country, and
was placed on Austurvöllur. However,
a year after the area was opened
to the public in 1930, he w a s
replaced by a statue of Jón S i gu rðs -
son, who gets to keep a stern eye
on parliament, whereas p o o r
Bertel currently over- looks a
pond.
STATUES IN REYKJAVÍK
SOME THINGS YOU PROBABLY DIDN´T KNOW ABOUT THE SIGHTS OF REYKJAVÍK
W O N D E R I N G S
Ingólfur Arnarsson
If you need someone to blame for your being
in Reykjavík at this very moment, and take
causality back far enough, then this is the
man you should be pelting. He is the first
man to come here and actually decide to
stay. Hence, he is the first true Iceland-
er, probably in more than one
sense. Legend has it
that he threw columns
from his boat into the
sea, and decided to set up
camp wherever it was they
came ashore. The wind and the
tides blew them ashore right here,
and they’ve been battering his de-
scendants ever since.
Skúli might not be to blame
for the wind and wayward
columns, but for almost
anything that’s happened
in Reykjavík since, he can
be, in a holistic sort of
way, said to be the culprit,
as he was the man pri-
marily responsible for turning it
into the megalopolis we know
today. No portraits of him
are preserved, but this
artist’s impression might
say something about
the man.
Skúli Fógeti
Jón Sigurðsson
Iceland’s national hero
is a lawyer who spent
most of his time in
Copenhagen, but then,
for a country with no
army and the only
person who sacrificed
his life in the cause of
independence a farmer
who caught pneumonia
and died after protesting
outside the sheriff’s
office, the list of war
heroes is bound to be
short. This statue was
originally placed outside
the seat of government
(Stjórnarráðshúsið) in
1911, but moved here
in 1931.
Photos: Aldís
French Statue
Say what you will of the Americans, but
at least they give good statue. What
the hell is this? The Yanks get the
Statue of Liberty, we get the finger.
It’s enough to put you in the mood for
a hamburger and liberty fries, and to
turn you off all notions of the European
Union. Well, almost.
Leifur Eíríksson
“Icelanders,” goes the saying, “are the smartest
people in the world. They found America and
had the good sense to loose it again.” Actu-
ally, Leifur was going to visit his old man
(Eric the Red) in Greenland, and couldn’t
find it, discovering America instead. He
was since known as Leif the Lucky,
although whether this was because of
the quality of his new continent or just
because his dad really had it in for
him goes unreported. The statue
was given to the people of Iceland
by the United States in 1930.