Reykjavík Grapevine - 02.12.2011, Side 34

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The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 18 — 2011
Mountaineers of Iceland • Skútuvogur 12E • 104 Reykjavík • Iceland
Telephone: +354 580 9900 Ice@mountaineers.is • www.mountaineers.is • www. activity.is
SUPER JEEP & SNOWMOBILE TOURS
As a kid I used to love visiting the
district of Grafarvogur, mainly be-
cause Reykjavík’s garbage dump
was located there and, as everyone
knows, garbage dumps are great
for treasure-hunting. I still have old
foreign coins I found there amidst
stacks of expired lamb-meat and
pieces of unwanted ‘60s furniture.
The site of the dump is now cov-
ered with grass and provides the
perfect place to run around soft,
green, trash-based hills, Teletubby-
style. However, you should note
that there is a reason nothing has
been built there; the area is full of
methane gas and therefore highly
flammable.
Aside from hosting the dumps, the
neighbourhood of Grafarvogur has a
history and lots more treasures to un-
cover. So let’s take a look!
ARE yOU FAT ENOUGH TO bECOME
FALCON-FEEd?
From looking at a map of Grafarvogur,
it might seem like your ordinary suburb
built in the late 1980s and into the '90s,
with decent amounts of speed bumps,
basketball fields, and schools. But fur-
ther perusal reveals that the area is rife
with history, in fact our earliest sources
of information date back to Iceland’s
first settlers.
In 1180, the area was found to be the
perfect place to build a sanctuary, and a
church dedicated to St. Mary was con-
structed right next to an old graveyard
where many of the settlers are buried.
None of these ruins can be seen today,
as they are all covered with an inac-
tive fertilizer factory, which ceased its
production in 2002 after operating for
fifty years, starting when Grafarvogur
was still far away from the outskirts of
the city (and not yet residential). A fire
incident in 1990 instilled great commu-
nity pressure to shut the factory down,
both from Grafarvogur's residents and
the city council. The factory's fate was
finally determined in 2001, after a pow-
erful explosion in its hydrogen and am-
monia production facilities that shook
houses in the neighbourhood and emit-
ted a pressure shock-wave that was felt
far away.
Not far from this old factory lies a
cape that in the eighteenth century was
used to keep sheep. These animals had
been marked to become fodder for the
Danish King’s precious falcons. Such
falcons were used for hunting among
royalty, and Icelandic falcons were con-
sidered among the best in the world.
The falcons themselves were kept in
downtown Reykjavík, before they were
sent to the Danish King. The falcons
sort of fell out of fashion in the begin-
ning of the 19th century, however, and
falcon-feed production in Grafarvogur
subsequently came to a standstill.
INTERESTING bUILdINGS ANd
ExOTIC PLANTS
In 1929, a farm called Korpúlfsstaðir
was built in Grafarvogur. At that time it
was the most technologically advanced
dairy farm in any Nordic country, but it
did not operate for long. Alas, in 1934
special laws on dairy production were
implemented, and the country was di-
vided into several areas, each with only
one milk processing plant. Each plant
held a monopoly of the market in its
area, and milk prices were decided by
special committees. This caused many
of the previously privately run dairy
farms, such as Korpúlfsstaðir, to go out
of business.
The 2.400 m2 dairy farm still stands,
however, currently used for artist
residencies (www.sim.is/sim-res/
korpulfsstadir). It is among my most
favourite buildings in Reykjavík, as it
brings to mind the past, the future, and
the search and the invention of what is
"Icelandic."
But Korpúlfsstaðir is not the only
interesting building in Grafarvogur.
The neighbourhood also hosts the only
building in Reykjavík's suburbs pro-
tected by the National Architectural
Heritage Board. It was constructed in
1964 as a library for The Institute for
Experimental Pathology, Keldur, and
still serves the same purpose today.
Those interested in the history of art
can check out its library between 08:00
and 16:00 on weekdays. The building
was designed by Hannes Davíðsson,
the same architect who made Kjar-
valsstaðir museum on Klambratún,
and its interior was designed by the
artists Þorvaldur Skúlason—one of the
pioneers of abstract art in Iceland—and
Sigurjón Ólafsson—who has his own art
museum, The Sigurjón Ólafsson Mu-
seum in Reykjavík, located in Laugar-
nestangi.
Not far away from Keldur you’ll find
an area that was a fairly popular spot
for summer cabins in the '60s and '70s
(bear in mind that this is when Grafar-
vogur was still considered ‘the country-
side’). Today, you’ll spot summer cabin
ruins; floors made out of mosaic tiles,
benches and even exotic plants that
were imported from Asia sixty years
ago.
POLITICAL dEbATE, CELEbRI-
TIES ANd THE NORdIC COUNCIL
LITERATURE PRIzE
Before the suburb of Grafarvogur was
planned in 1982, it had been a source
of political debate for some time. The
left-wing parties wanted to expand the
city to the east. These plans changed
when the right wing Independence
Party, lead by the infamous Davíð Odd-
son, won the municipal elections in
1982 and the foundations were laid for
Grafarvogur becoming what it is today.
Grafarvogur was Reykjavík’s second
suburb experiment, and never became
the ‘ghetto’ some sceptical people an-
ticipated at the time of planning. Gra-
farvogur has attracted a lot of talented
people and celebrities over the years.
Two out of the three living Icelandic au-
thors that have won the Nordic Coun-
cil Literature Prize live in Grafarvogur
(2011 recipient Gyrðir Elíasson and
1995 recipient Einar Már Guðmunds-
son. Musician Damon Albarn (Blur/Go-
rillaz) bought a house a couple of years
ago not far away from Korpúlfsstaðir,
and close by lies the biggest entertain-
ment and sport hall in Iceland where,
among others, Snoop Dogg, Duran
Duran, Foo Fighters, Metallica, Queens
of the Stone Age and Placido Domingo
have performed (unfortunately not to-
gether as a single act).
THE GOLdEN bRIdGE ANd MORE
TREASURES
“The Golden Bridge” (Icelandic: Gullin-
brú) was for a long time the only way to
get into and out of the suburb of Gra-
farvogur. The bridge's name, along with
some other names in Grafarvogur, are
derived from poems by the poet Bjarni
Thorarensen, who lived in the area in
the beginning of the 19th century.
What I find fascinating about Gra-
farvogur is the area’s nature. One does
not have to have grown up in Grafar-
vogur to enjoy walking or running along
its coastline. It is also a perfect place to
take your kids or yourself to the beach
to find treasures (children in Iceland go
often to the beach but not dressed in
swimsuits—they go dressed in wool and
raincoats, armed with a bucket and a
shovel). On the beach you’ll find easily
find shells in the black sand, crabs and
beautifully shaped stones. And if you
are very lucky, you may even find old
foreign coins.
Grafarvogur Has A Hidden History
And Some Treasure To boot!
Reykjavík | City planning
DID YOU KNOW: Grafarvogur was also the setting for Mikael Torfason's gritty début novel, 'Falskur fugl'
("Fake Bird")! It had teenagers, drugs, guns and threesomes in it! Now you know!
How Reykjavík got to be what it is, part III
Words
Gerður Jónsdóttir
Photo
Reykjavíkurborg