Árni Óla (1888-1979), writer and journalist, is the person who most likely knew the history and origins of Reykjavík’s people the best. After all, he wrote countless books about the history of the capital, as well as working as a journalist for Morgunblaðið, from the newspaper’s foundation in 1913 until his death. After a lot of research, he was sure that the first settlers, Hallveig Fróðadóttir and Ingólfur Arnarson, had built their home Reykjavík, by Arnarhóll, where Hafnartorg is located today. Probably no spot in the city has changed as much in the past months and years as the area west of Arnarhóll. Icelandic Times / Land & Saga went on a field trip… to Hallveig’s and Ingólfur’s former farmstead. Diverse, modern and full of life today. Árni Óla missed all of this. When he died, this area was not particularly exciting. A gas station, garages and storages for the port. Nothing exciting to the eye. A hundred years earlier, the area had been the heart of Reykjavík. Kind of like today. The city is now just so much bigger then it used to be. The heart beats all over the city. Not just in one place.
Reykjavík 07/10/2023 – A7C, RX1R II : FE 1.8/20mm G, 2.0/35mm Z
