Fjallabyggd (“Mountain Settlement”) is a skier’s dream. Its slopes are perfect for slaloming and there are also tracks for telemark skiing. Winter sporting enthusiasts can also go ice skating or rent snowmobiles. In summer, Fjallabyggd turns into a paradise for hikers. Read this special promotion about one of Iceland’s best hidden gems.  more

It starts with majestic cultural institutions—the statue of the first settler of Iceland, Ingólfur Arnarson atop the Arnarhóll hill, Culture House and the National Theater. In the space of a few meters the old guard gives ground to less formal attire: ethnic grocery stores, street art, artist workshops, tattoo places, a smattering of sex shops. The street ends with a double standard: the Hlemmur bus station on one side, with all its inner city iniquities, and the city’s central police station on the other.

Historically, Hverfisgata has been Iceland’s working class neighborhood squeezed onto one street. Like its international equivalents Shoreditch in London, Brooklyn in New York, Södermalm in Stockholm, in a few years, it might just be the hippest place around. Rugged yet charming, derelict but buzzing, step off the main street to find the Icelandic take on urban living.

Published in the 2010 summer issue of Iceland Review – IR 48.02. By Sari Peltonen. Photos by Eddi Jónsson. With thanks to Kristrún Heida Hauksdóttir.

CULTURE HOUSE
Hverfisgata 15

The bottom of the street is marked by imposing cultural edifices. The Culture House from 1909 was designed by Danish architect Johannes Magdahl Nielsen, who not once set foot in Iceland. In the beginning, the building also housed the National Library and National archives, the National Museum and Natural istory Museum—all the Icelandic treasures under the same roof. These days, the house promotes Icelandic history and cultural heritage. Amidst the many invaluable medieval manuscripts exhibited is the crown jewel of Icelandic literature, the Poetic Edda.

THE DANISH EMBASSY
Hverfisgata 29

Defined by castle-like battlements, the embassy of Denmark has been located on Hverfisgata for over 90 years since the property was sold to the Danes by the brothers Sturla. Current host, consul Ernst Hemmingsen, enjoys the central location on Hverfisgata, but has trouble with some of the neighbors. “The house at number 28 burned this winter, but it is still standing as a ruin. I don’t know what will happen if a storm comes,” he says. Hemmingsen would like to see the empty skeletons replaced by green areas such as the effacing park Hljómalindareitur, with wall art by Sigurdur Amundarson. During the boom, there were plans to turn the entire block into a hotel complex. For now, the plans are on hold.

You can read the remainder of this article in the 2010 summer issue of Iceland Review – IR 48.02. Four times a year the print edition of Iceland Review brings you a wealth of articles on all aspects of life in Iceland including Páll Stefánsson's latest images of the country's majestic landscape. Click here to subscribe and here to browse through a selection of pages from the current issue.

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The second issue of the print edition of Iceland Review 2010 has just been published. Entitled “Under the Volcano” the magazine dedicates 20 pages, words and pictures, to the volcanic eruption in Eyjafjallajökull glacier which made headlines all over the word. New subscribers will receive the book 2010 Eruptions as a gift and all subscribers are part of a draw to win a trip to Iceland. Click here to subscribe to the magazine.  more

Dadi Gudbjörnsson's art with its smiley faces, Aladdin's lamps, gleaming hearts, blue mountains and psychedelic flora of unearthly origin reminds me of the cheesy R.E.M. song “Shiny Happy People”. The sugar-sweet naivety fails to amuse me but I must admit it infects my mood with delirious joy.  more

Former President of Iceland Vigdís Finnbogadóttir turned 80 on 15 April this year and Mayor Hanna Birna Kristjánsdóttir—in making her an Honorary Citizen of Reykjavík to mark the occasion—observed that Finnbogadóttir’s life was interwoven with that of Reykjavík. In June 1980 Finnbogadóttir made history when she became the world’s first democratically elected female head of state.  more

Today, August 30, and tomorrow is your last chance to visit the exhibition “Eau De Parfum” by Andrea Maack at the Spark Design Space in Reykjavík. In the exhibition space, Maack introduces three perfumes that are the result of her collaboration with French perfumery apf aromes & parfums.  more