Iceland review - 2014, Qupperneq 24

22 ICELAND REVIEW
There’s an air of grandeur about the large, white
house that proudly stands at 10 Grundarstígur
amidst the colorful corrugated iron houses of
Þingholt, 101 Reykjavík. After all, this is no ordinary
house. It was commissioned in 1915 by Iceland’s beloved
statesman and poet Hannes Hafstein (1861-1922) who
lived there with his family until his dying day. The house
has now been renovated and turned into a flourishing
cultural center, restaurant and café, attracting guests from
every corner of the world. “The idea is to invite the public
to enjoy its atmosphere and fall into its rhythm, stepping
into a place where the past connects with the present,”
says the owner and founder of Hannesarholt, Ragnheiður
Jóna Jónsdóttir. “Many people who come here don’t
pay much attention to Hannes—the house makes them
remember their grandmother or their old aunt, leading
them back to their own personal roots.”
By ÁSta andréSdóttir PHOTOS By PÁll StefÁnSSon ANd ÁSlaug Snorradóttir
Hannesarholt is a non-profit organization, midway between
a home and an institute; a meeting point for the public and
for scholars. “It is a place for preserving our cultural history;
remembering where we came from and where we are going.
Retrieving our cultural memory,” she explains over a cappuc-
cino and delicious apple pie, baked on the premises. “That
way, we will be better equipped to face the future. Icelanders
sprinted from the middle ages to modernity in the short span
of a hundred years. Running fast, you forget to look around
you, and something might fall from your pockets along the
way. The way the nation managed to rise from poverty and
ignorance is truly admirable but Hannesarholt is about slow-
ing down. We have reached modernity; we don’t need to run
anymore. Now it’s important to slow down and look back to
the people who built the society in which we live, remember
things that we had forgotten about.”
Named after its original owner, the poet and first Icelandic Minister of State Hannes Hafstein,
Hannesarholt is a new cultural center in one of Reykjavík’s
most striking and historic houses.
AN EMBRACE FROM THE PAST