Stóð, by Ragnar Kjartansson from 1963 at the entrance to Einarsgarður on Smáragata

Einar’s garden

Reykjavík is a green city. There are many large green outdoor areas throughout the city, the largest being Heiðmörk on the outskirts of the eastern most part of the city. Laugardalurinn, Fossvogsdalurinn, Elliðarárdalurinn and Klambratún are probably the most frequented outdoor areas, but Einarsgarður by Laufásvegur, Smáragata and Gamla Hringbraut is probably the smallest park. A beautiful garden, with two works of art. A plant nursery was established there in 1899, when the Icelandic state and Búnaðarfjelag Íslands set up a plant nursery at the southern end of Laufásvegur by Hringbraut. Most trees in the first half of the last century in Reykjavík came from the nursery. The director was the horticulturist Einar Helgason. The area became a public park in 1943 after the plant nursery closed down in 1931. The park is named after the aforementioned Einar. The park is small, 14 days of hay collecting, in size as stated in 1899. In the immediate vicinity is the old Teacher’s College, Landspítalinn, the Transport Center BSÍ and of course Hjómskálagarður, which lies a few hundred meters to the west. In other words, in the middle of the city center. Almost.

Pomona, by Johannes Berg, inaugurated in 1954, in the heart of Einarsgarður
Einarsgarður is filled with beautiful flowers
Pamona overseeing the construction of the new Landspítali
The bus stop by Einarsgarður at Gamla-Hringbraut by the transport center BSÍ
Einarsgarður to the right, then the new Landspítali and the old Teacher’s Collage on the left
Photographs & text: Páll Stefánsson
Reykjavík 30/08/2023 : RX1R II : 2.0/35mm Z