Ritröð Guðfræðistofnunar - 01.01.1991, Qupperneq 63

Heimamaður á Þingvöllum
Summary
On his retum to Iceland from China in 1953, Jóhann Hannesson became
Superintendent of the National Park at Thingvellir, and minister of the
Thingvellir parish when it was re-erected in 1957.
This article looks at some of the events of this period of Jóhann
Hannesson's life and attempts to portray the diversity of his considerable
talents, education and experience. Guðmundsson describes how Jóhann
Hannesson met with Chinese aviation officials and addressed them in their
own language, and how he was able to locate their particular Hunan
dialect. He tells of how Hannesson spent the winters at Thingvellir on a
rather remote highland farm among a community very similar to the one
in which he was raised, and how he had to deal with a multitude of
different tasks, such as handling the telephone exchange, the post-office
and the weather station at Thingvellir. The author sheds light on Jóhann
Hannesson's unique mixture of cosmopolitanism and practical Icelandic
farm-life.
During the summers, the Hannessons came into contact with many
different types of visitors and guests, including prominent Icelandic and
foreign officials and statesmen, artists, sports fishermen, and various
young travellers, as well as his neighbours and parishioners, some of
whom were friends from their youth. Thingvellir was a particularly
important meeting. Geologically speaking, it lies at the intersection of the
European and North American continental plates, but it was also the site
of the famous decision of the Althing to accept the Christian faith. Jóhann
Hannesson delighted in this meeting place of East and West and in the
occassions it afforded for the exchange of traditions, customs, and
cuisine.
The period the Hannessons spent at Thingvellir was a pleasant
intermesso in their own lives and had a lasting influence on both the re-
erected parish and the national park. The couple complemented each
other in many ways. Astrid Hannesson was, for example, a trained nurse
with years of experience as well as an accomplished singer and organist,
and she sang and played both at home and in the church. Jóhann followed
in the footsteps of the minister who confirmed him, the Reverend
Guðmundur Einarsson, becoming an excellent teacher and setting an
example for his parishioners during his years of dedicated service.
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