Bessastaðir

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Presidential House, Bessastaðir

Bessastaðir is a manor in the Icelandic municipality Garðabær ( Álftanes until 2012 ) a few kilometers southwest of Reykjavík . It is now used as the official residence of the Icelandic President .

history

The area around Bessastaðir was probably first settled before the year 1000. Presumably it was the official first settler of Iceland Ingólfur Arnarson who laid claim to the land.

In the 13th century Snorri Sturluson owned a farm here. This can be proven with the mention in the Íslendinga saga of his nephew Sturla Þórðarson . The medieval manor fell to the King of Norway after Snorri's death in 1241. Bessastaðir subsequently became the seat of the king's representatives (first of the Norwegian king, later of the Danish) and remained so until the end of the 18th century.

In 1805 what was then the only secondary school in the country was founded under the name Lærði Skólinn (Eng. The School of Scholars ) in Bessastaðir after the resignation of its predecessor, Hólavallarskóli.

It was there for 40 years, but was moved back to Reykjavík in 1846. This is how the Menntaskólinn í Reykjavík secondary school came into being , which is still located in the city center of the capital.

In 1867 the property became the property of the writer Grímur Thomsen (1820-1896), who lived here for two decades.

Later owners were Skúli Thoroddsen and his wife Theodóra Thoroddsen .

In 1940 the farm was acquired by Sigurður Jónasson and later given to the Icelandic state.

Presidential seat

The seat of the President has been here since 1944.

The first of these presidents, Sveinn Björnsson (1881–1952), actually lived here from 1941 onwards. At that time he was not yet President, but Prime Minister of the then Icelandic government before independence from Denmark. This took place in a referendum only in 1944.

Currently (2016) Guðni Th. Jóhannesson , the sixth President of Iceland, resides here .

Buildings in Bessastaðir

Church, in the background the main building

There are various buildings on the site, including a small church.

Main building Bessastaðastofa

In the years 1761 to 1766, today's main building was built for the bailiff Magnús Gíslason.

It served as a residential and official building until 1989. In 1989 it was thoroughly rebuilt and modernized, which was tackled under the presidency of Vigdís Finnbogadóttir , and has only served the latter function since 1990.

church

As is usually the case with manors, Bessastaðir has had its own church since the Middle Ages . This now belongs to the municipality of Garðabær ( Garðasókn or Garðaprestkall ).

The current church was built of stone in 1777. The floor plan comes from the pen of the Danish architect GD Anthon, who also designed the church on the island of Viðey . As a result, the structure was rebuilt many times, most recently at the end of the 1940s.

In the church, which is open to the public, there is a pulpit and a cross by the stonemason Ríkarður Jónsson , an altar panel by the painter Guðmundur Thorsteinsson and stained glass windows by the artists Guðmundar Einarsson frá Miðdal and Finnur Jónsson , which were subsequently installed in 1956. Similar to the Akureyri cathedral, scenes from the history of the Church in Iceland are also shown here.

Overview of the Icelandic presidents and their term of office

See also

Web links

Commons : Bessastaðir  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Official website of the Icelandic President ( memento of the original from July 23, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / english.forseti.is
  2. ↑ Off. Álftanes Municipality website , accessed July 2, 2011
  3. ↑ a b T. Einarsson, H. Magnússon (eds.): Íslandshandbókin. Náttúra, saga og sérkenni. 1. bindi. Örn og Örlygur, Reykjavík 1989, p. 71
  4. ^ Hólavallarskóli in the Icelandic language Wikipedia
  5. ↑ T. Einarsson, H. Magnússon (Eds.): Íslandshandbókin. Náttúra, saga og sérkenni. 1. bindi. Örn og Örlygur, Reykjavík 1989, pp. 71f.
  6. ↑ a b c d T. Einarsson, H. Magnússon (eds.): Íslandshandbókin. Náttúra, saga og sérkenni. 1. bindi. Örn og Örlygur, Reykjavík 1989, p. 72
  7. ↑ cf. Drawing by Tímarit Morgunblaðsins , January 15, 1995 (Icelandic), accessed July 2, 2011
  8. ↑ a b cf. Tímarit Morgunblaðsins , January 15, 1995 (Icelandic), accessed July 2, 2011
  9. ^ Páll Valsson: Vigdís. Kona verður forseti. JPV Útgáfa, Reykjavík 2009, p. 373.
  10. ↑ cf. also Evangelical Lutheran Church of Iceland / Þjóðkirkjan (Icelandic), accessed July 2, 2011

Coordinates: 64 ° 6 ′ 21 ″  N , 21 ° 59 ′ 44 ″  W.