Day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year, the first resident of Reykjavík and Iceland, Ingólfur Arnarsson, looks west over the city centre. The statue of Ingólfur was unveiled in 1924. He’s said to be the first settler of Iceland in 874 and chose Reykjavík as his homestead. The statue is by sculptor Einar Jónsson. When Reykjavík became a municipal town in 1786, Arnarhóll was outside the town limits. It has belonged to Reykjavík since 1835 when the townland was expanded. Unfortunately, there is no statue of Hallveig Fróðadóttir, Ingólfur’s wife, and thus the first settler woman. The first diesel trawler of the fishing company BÚR (Bæjarútgerðar Reykjavíkur) was named Hallveig Fróðadóttir RE 203 after her.
Reykjavík 04/11/2021 17:38 – A7C: FE 2.5 / 40mm G
Photo and text: Páll Stefánsson
