Iceland review - 2015, Síða 39

ICELAND REVIEW 37
HERITAGE PRESERVED
After continuous habitation since Iceland
was first settled, the communities of
Hornstrandir were eventually abandoned
in 1952 following rapid social changes
during and after World War II. Since 1975,
Hornstrandir, spanning 590 square kilome-
ters (227 square miles), has been protected
as a nature reserve and grazing by sheep
and horses is therefore forbidden. The area
is an increasingly popular hiking destina-
tion and is described by Lonely Planet as
one of Europe’s “last true wilderness areas.”
TIGHT-KNIT COMMUNITY
Today, much of the land and remaining,
now renovated, houses—a few new sum-
merhouses have also been built—are still
privately owned by the families who once
inhabited the area. They remain tight-knit
and keen to preserve the communities’
strong bonds, as well as the region’s unique
history. “Last week we were painting and
all of a sudden we realized that eight of
us were related to the same man in the
graveyard! That’s quite something,” Hilmar
exclaims.
One of those men was Oddur Þorbergur
Hermannsson, whose parents were
from Aðalvík. He and his two brothers,
Finnbjörn Aðalvíkingur and Hermann Þór
Hermannsson, are making the finishing
touches to the paint job on the old priest’s
residence. For Oddur, too, it’s important
to maintain this sense of community and
upkeep of the buildings, even if it means
spending part of his summer holidays
working. “There’s 400 years of family his-
tory here. We’ve traced our roots here back
to 1600,” he says. “Four years ago we [the
members of the Regional Society] decided
to buy the priest’s house from the state and
we took it upon ourselves to take care of
the church too, because otherwise it would
have been neglected.” Henry Bæringsson
points out that restoration work first began
back in 1976 when members of the com-
munity prevented the two buildings, as well
as the old school, from “blowing into the
wind,” as he puts it.
From 2010-2012, they painted the insides
of the church and replaced the corrugated
iron and parts of the windows, as well as
restored the base by replacing some of the
rocks. The priest’s house was also done up.
With this summer’s renovations, the two
buildings will be fully restored for the first
time in over 70 years. “The church has
never looked better,” Hilmar says proudly,
squinting at us in the blaring sun.
While the existing church was built in
1904, a turf church stood in its place before
and records indicate that the first church
was built in the same spot around the year
1200. The cemetery has also been recently
renovated with the angelica plants, which
surround the church, cleared and a new
church gate installed, Oddur tells me. “We
found an old photo and used that to make
it exactly like the original. Now it’s here for
anyone who is buried here, or wishes to be
buried here in the future. Some people still
wish to be laid to rest here,” he explains.
The church and priest’s house are also
still occasionally used for christenings or
weddings, and every-second-year a mass is
held—the next one is scheduled for 2016.
Oddur and his wife Þóra Þórarinsdóttir
were married in the church many years
ago. Þóra joins Oddur and I as we chat, and
Oddur asks her sheepishly if she wants to
go inside: “Shall we take a look? Twenty-six
years after our wedding.”
RESOURCEFULNESS REQUIRED
Inside the priest’s house, we meet Jónína
Vala Kristinsdóttir, whose father was
from the area. She’s the cashier for the
Reykjavík-branch of the society (there’s
also an Ísafjörður branch) and on this trip
her job is to cook for the group. “It’s our
last day today so we’re just eating leftovers,”
COMMUNITY
The boat arrives at Sæból, Aðalvík.