Árbók Hins íslenzka fornleifafélags - 01.01.2004, Qupperneq 79

Tilvísanir og athugasemdir
1 Hér má nefna, að Garðakirkja á Álftanesi hafði verið lögð af 1914 og síðar rifin að
öðru en veggjum, og ekki um að ræða að messa þar. Löngu síðar var ný kirkja byggð
upp úr tóftinni.
2 Myndin er skorin af Ríkarði Jónssyni.
3 Alþingistíðindi 1974, D, 585-593.
4 Lög um viðhald fornra mannvirkja og um byggðasöfn, nr. 8, 12. febr. 1948.
5 Verið getur, að þessir vængir séu þær „biblíumyndir í útskornum umgerðum,“ sem
Guðjón Samúelsson hafði skrifað að týnzt hefðu úr kirkjunni en fundizt síðar á
ýmsum stöðum. Um þær myndir er annars ekkert vitað.
Summary
The stone built church at Bessastaðir in Álftanes, built between 1777-1823, is one of the
small number of stone houses that the Danish Crown had built in Iceland during that
period.The present church interior differs considerably from its original design.The more
severe changes took place in the 1940´s. This article begins by describing the sale of a
valuable pyx (box for communal wafers) from the Bessastaðir church to private collectors
around 1900, that sale caused quite an uproar which resulted in the Antiquities Law of
1908. The article goes on to discuss the "restoration" undertaken in the 1940´s and the
debate surrounding same. At that time, the church of Bessastaðir was the only remaining
18th century Danish stone building that was practically unchanged from its inception.
In 1941, the owner of Bessastaðir donated the farm, along with the church and
buildings, to the State, after which it became the residence for the President of Iceland.At
this time, considerable reconstuction and reparations were undertaken at Bessastaðir
between 1945-1948. State Architect, Guðjón Samúelsson, supervised the reparation and
changes to the church. State Antiquarian, Matthías Þórðarson, had proposed and pressed for
another solution; unfortunately, the reconstructions of the church were carried out
contrary to his wishes and advice.
MP Gylfi Þ. Gíslason, later minister of culture and education, was the main critic
regarding the manner in which the reparations were conducted. He pointed out that the
church had not been changed much since it was built and the reparations had stripped the
building of its historic furnishings.The State Architect responded by emphazising the poor
condition of the church prior to the changes and the quality of the new furnishings.
Further debates followed in newspapers including a noteworthy piece by Kristján Eldjárn,
Matthías Þórðarson´s successor, wherein he described how the church furnishings had been
cleaned out of the building and the National Museum could collect what they cared to
preserve.
Since 1987, much work has taken place at Bessastaðir. The 18th century house has been
the object of extensive reconstruction.A number of new buildings have also been erected,
replacing some of those built in the 1940´s.The author points out that the restorations at
Bessastaðir ought to end with a restoration of the church. Wherein there will be an
opportunity to repair some of the damage done in the 1940s.
78 ÁRBÓK FORNLEIFAFÉLAGSINS