Knud Zimsen

Knud Zimsen (left) regulates traffic on Austurstræti in Reykjavík in the summer of 1925.

Knud Zimsen (born August 17, 1875 in Hafnarfjörður , † April 15, 1953 in Reykjavík ) was an Icelandic politician. He was Mayor of the Icelandic capital Reykjavík for 18 years, a position longer than anyone else. Before, as well as afterwards, the qualified civil engineer was extensively involved in the political, economic, cultural and social life of the city thanks to his wide-ranging fields of activity and numerous positions in decision-making bodies. In retrospect, he is now considered one of the most nationally influential Icelanders in the first half of the 20th century.

Life

Origin, education and private life

The Gimli house in Reykjavík, where Knud Zimsen lived with his first wife Flora and their foster daughter from 1905 to 1911.

Knud Zimsen was the fifth of ten children - and the first son - to the Danish couple Knud Due Christian Zimsen (* 1841; † 1906) and Anna Cathinca Jörgensen (* 1845; † 1921). His mother grew up in Randers in Jutland . His father was born in Copenhagen , soon moved with his family to Grenaa and finally to Iceland in 1855. He later ran a Knudtzon shop in Hafnarfjörður from 1866 and was in charge of another in Reykjavík. There he also worked as the city treasurer . Christian and Anna had married in 1868.

Among other things, Knud attended the Flensborgarskóli in Hafnarfjörður and graduated from the Menntaskólinn í Reykjavík in spring 1893 at the age of 17 . At the beginning of August of the same year he sailed to Copenhagen with the ship Lauru . There he took up a degree in engineering , which he was able to complete in January 1900 - only the third Icelander ever to graduate in this subject.

On November 9, 1901, he married Flora Marie Heintzelmann (* 1869; † 1927), with whom he had no children of his own, but foster daughter Ingibjörg (* 1903). In the spring of 1902 the couple moved to Iceland. In 1905, Knud Zimsen had the striking Gimli House built in Reykjavík as his residence, which is now the headquarters of the Icelandic Tourist Office. He and Flora created a large garden which they lovingly tended. In 1911, however, they sold the house because it was too expensive to maintain. Two years after Flora's death in 1929, Knud Zimsen had his second marriage with Anna Stuhlja Einarsdóttir (* 1893; † 1979), from which two children together with Knút Hafsteinn (* 1931; † 1956) and Anna Jóhanna (* 1932; † 2014) emerged. Knud Zimsen was a religious person and attached great importance to the Christian faith in his life.

Working life

After completing his studies in Copenhagen, Zimsen then succeeded in entering professional life, initially working in various posts in the port and then helping to build the urban sewage system .

In Iceland, Zimsen worked for the City of Reykjavík for nearly thirty years . Immediately after his arrival, he quickly gained both a lot of influence and a high reputation, which is evident, among other things, from an accumulation of offices on his person.

On May 1, 1902, he was appointed building science advisor (or municipal civil engineer and building expert) to the city council. He held this office until 1907. On March 8, 1903, Zimsen founded the Sunday School of Kristilegt félag ungra manna (KFUM) - the Icelandic branch of the Christian Association of Young People (YMCA) - and was to remain its director for 30 years. In the same year the building materials company Mjölnir was founded together with the businessman Sturla Jónsson, the stonemason Valentínus Eyjólfsson, the district doctor Guðmundur Björnsson and the museum attendant Jón Jakobsson . For the Danish Ministry of Iceland (the island was still Danish territory at the time), Zimsen conducted a study to determine whether it would be worth building a clothing factory in Iceland. He had already seen similar works in Denmark, Germany and Norway and was positive. As a result, the privately financed company Iðunni was opened in Rauðarárvíkin near Hveragerði in 1903 . Knud Zimsen was involved in both companies. They were supposed to help establish an economic independence for Iceland, which until then was largely dependent on imports in many areas of the economy. Ultimately, however, both factories turned out to be unsustainable - Mjölnir was not durable and Iðunni went bankrupt in 1914. As a construction expert, Zimsen also intensively pushed ahead with the expansion of the port and was one of the initiators of the first city telephone company.

In addition, Knud Zimsen was temporarily active as the city's health officer. He was also President of the Chamber of Crafts and participated as such on July 30, 1907 at a banquet with the Danish King Frederick VIII , who had traveled to Reykjavík. Zimsen also acted as chairman of the so-called Ingólfskommission, which organized the erection of a memorial for the city founder Ingólfur Arnarson for almost two decades . The statue was finally unveiled in 1924. In the summer of 1908, together with the Danish architect Frederik Kiørboe (* 1878, † 1952), he presented the first plans for the design of the Hljómskálagarður park , which were implemented from 1914 onwards with the planting of the first trees. Also in 1908 Zimsen was elected to the city council; he kept this seat for ten years. One of Zimsen's most integral decisions during his time as a municipal civil engineer concerned the city's water supply: he designed Reykjavík's first main aqueduct. After he left office, the line fed by the Elliðaár river was ceremonially put into operation on June 16, 1909 after three years of planning and construction.

Term of office as mayor

The office of Mayor of Reykjavík was created in 1907 and in the following year the city council received two applications for this post: On the one hand, that of Zimsens and, on the other hand, that of Páll Einarsson (* 1868; † 1954), who was then police chief and mayor in Hafnarfjörður . The election on May 7, 1908 was ten to three in favor of Einarsson, but after six years Zimsen succeeded him on May 7, 1914. Already in 1911 he had temporarily taken over the post ad interim during an ailment Einarsson.

During his more than 18 years of government, Reykjavík's population has more than doubled from 13,771 at the beginning to 30,565 at the end. The mayor therefore placed a major focus of his work on the architectural and infrastructural modernization of the rapidly expanding city. At the same time, he is also remembered for numerous local recreation projects and environmentally sustainable measures.

Shortly after taking office, he ordered the Tjörnin to be divided : the Skothúsvegur road was laid over a dam. From 1920 he had swans settled on the same lake, which are still one of Reykjavík's main attractions today. Two years earlier, in 1918, Zimsen had appointed a committee that was to discuss the possible construction of a town hall for the first time. Ultimately, however, there was no construction. He also campaigned for the current location of the University of Iceland in the run-up to the construction work on the main building . During the pandemic, the Spanish flu was Zimsen on 8 November 1918 by Prime Minister Jón Magnússon together with the law professor and former Althing -Abgeordneten Lárus H. Bjarnason (* 1866, † 1934) and another person in a panel of experts appointed. Although the committee relied on volunteer work by helpful citizens, it had a substantial budget. The trio should deal with the question of how the living conditions of Icelanders could be improved in times of serious waves of disease. Well-known volunteers who supported the committee during this time were Meyvant Sigurðsson (* 1894; † 1990) and the doctor Maggi Júlíusson Magnús (* 1886; † 1941). The work of the committee was varied: Visits to needy people were organized, cars were made available for doctor rides, a children's home was set up in a primary school building and a special epidemic hospital with 70 beds was built, the medical director of which was Þórður Sveinsson (* 1874; † 1946 ) has been.

For the mayoral election in 1920, a reform of the electoral law was decided, according to which the highest city representative should no longer be elected by the city council, but directly by the citizens. After a hard-fought election campaign, Zimsen prevailed with 1,760 votes against his challenger Sigurður Eggerz, who had received 1,584 votes. In 1926 Zimsen stood for re-election without opposing candidates and with regard to the 1930 election, the decision was transferred back to the city council by a new law, which confirmed Zimsen for a fourth legislative period . From 1930 onwards, Knud Zimsen drove the complex and systematic expansion of the geothermal network , which now fully supplies the city. Together with councilor Jónas Jónsson, he also designed the large, municipal cemetery Fossvogskirkjugarður , which was inaugurated in autumn 1932.

However, in the course of 1932, his health had deteriorated rapidly. He took a three-month break for medical rehabilitation , during which he sailed a lot. However, there was no improvement. Because of his acute exhaustion, the doctors advised him to resign from office. Knud Zimsen complied with this recommendation when he resigned from the post of mayor on December 30, 1932 at the age of 57 for health reasons.

Further life

In the years that followed, Zimsen remained in the city as a socially and culturally committed citizen through a variety of activities. For example, he was one of the founding members of the Reykjavík Rotary Club on September 13, 1934 and served as its first president. Zimsen also continued to support the associations Kristilegt félag ungra manna (KFUM) and Kristilegt félag ungra kvenna (KFUK) - the Icelandic branches of the Christian Association of Young People (YMCA) and the Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) - as has been the case for decades .

Between 1940 and 1948 he sat as chairman of the board of directors of the Fossvogskirkjugarður cemetery that he had initiated and also headed a commission that campaigned for the construction of a new cemetery chapel. It was his stated goal to make funerals easier and cheaper. After the chapel was inaugurated on December 12, 1948, he saw his work as completed and resigned.

In his final months Knud Zimsen, who published two books with memoirs, was seriously ill and had to undergo several hospital stays. Most recently he was cared for at home by his wife. He died in the spring of 1953 at the age of 77. Four years after his death, the well-known Icelandic sculptor Sigurjón Ólafsson made a 60 centimeter high bronze bust of Zimsen in 1957 , which is exhibited in the Listasafn Reykjavíkur ( de .: Reykjavík Art Museum).

Publications

• Knud Zimsen, Lúðvík Kristjánsson: Við fjörð og vík. Endurminningar Knud Zimsens . Vaka-Helgafell, Reykjavík, 1948.
• Knud Zimsen: Úr bæ í borg. Nokkrar endurminningar Knud Zimsens around þróun Reykjavíkur. Vaka-Helgafell, Reykjavík, 1952.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c} “Lækjargata 3, Gimli” . On September 3, 2002 on mbl.is ( Morgunblaðið ). Retrieved April 9, 2016.
2. ↑ ^{a b c d e} Gunnar Thoroddsen: “Knud Zimsen fyrrverandi borgarstjóri. Minningarorð ” . In: Morgunblaðið , Volume 40, № 89, April 21, 1953, page 7. Retrieved from timarit.is on April 8, 2016.
3. ↑ "Starfaði í þrjátíu ár fyrir Reykjavíkurbæ" . In: Morgunblaðið , Volume 27, № 189, August 17, 1940, page 5. Retrieved from timarit.is on April 3, 2016.
4. ↑ Ingvar Árnason: "Sunnudagaskóli KFUM 50 ára" . In: Ljósberinn , 33rd year, № 3, April 1, 1953, page 31. Retrieved from timarit.is on April 8, 2016.
5. ^ Announcement regarding the company 'Mjölnir' . In: Þjóðólfur , year 56, № 31, July 15, 1904, page 123. Retrieved from timarit.is on April 8, 2016.
6. ↑ Verksmiðjan "Mjölnir" . In: Þjóðólfur , Volume 56, № 3, January 15, 1904, page 9. Retrieved from timarit.is on April 8, 2016.
7. ↑ Information about Knud Zimsen . Retrieved from borgarskjalasafn.is (Reykjavík City Archives) on April 9, 2016.
8. ↑ Information on the royal banquet in Reykjavík in 1907 . Retrieved from borgarskjalasafn.is (Reykjavík City Archives) on April 9, 2016.
9. ↑ Marion Lerner: Land-grabbing myth, cultural memory and national identity . Berliner Wissenschafts-Verlag , Berlin , 2010, ISBN 978-3-8305-1722-1 , page 40.
10. ^ ^{A b} "Parks and Outdoor Recreation areas" . Retrieved from reykjavik.is (Reykjavík City) on April 9, 2016.
11. ↑ Population figures in Reykjavík  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Retrieved from pxweb.reykjavik.is (Reykjavík Statistical Yearbook) on April 8, 2016.  
12. ↑ Hilmar Biering: "Reykjavíkurtjörn" . In: Morgunblaðið , March 1, 1985, page 14. Retrieved from timarit.is on April 3, 2016.
13. ↑ Ólafur K. Nielsen: "Tjörnin og fuglarnir" ( Memento of the original from April 3, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . In: Félagstíðindi , Vol. 3, № 1, 2012, pages 30–31. Retrieved from isafold.is on April 3, 2016. 
14. ↑ Background information on Reykjavík City Hall . Retrieved from nat.is (Nordic Adventure Travel) on April 3, 2016.
15. ↑ Andri Þorvarðarson, Auður Margrét C. Mikaelsdóttir, Sigurjóna Guðnadóttir: Background information on Reykjavík City Hall . Retrieved from husvernd.wordpress.com on April 3, 2016.
16. ^ "Lárus H. Bjarnason og hjúkrunarnefndin 1918" . In: Læknablaðið - The Icelandic Medical Journal , Volume 94, № 11, 2008. Retrieved from laeknabladid.is on April 9, 2016.
17. ↑ Background information on the history of the Fossvogskirkjugarður cemetery . Retrieved from gardur.is (Reykjavík Cemetery Administration ) on April 3, 2016.
18. ↑ Markús Örn Antonsson: "Rótarýklúbbur Reykjavíkur fylder 80 år som den første og ældste i Iceland" ( Memento of the original from April 3, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . In: Rotary North , № 6, October 2014, pp. 58–59. Retrieved from epaper.hansaprint.fi on April 3, 2016. 
19. ↑ ^{a b} "Knud Zimsen, fyrrv. borgarstjóri lézt að heimili sínu í gær “ . In: Morgunblaðið , Volume 40, № 85, April 16, 1953, page 1. Retrieved from timarit.is on April 9, 2016.
20. ↑ Article on the Fossvogskirkjugarður cemetery . Retrieved from kirkjugardar.is (Reykjavík Cemetery Administration ) on April 3, 2016.

predecessor	Office	successor
Páll Einarsson	Mayor of Reykjavík 1914–1932	Jón Þorláksson

Note: Icelanders are referred to by their first name or first and last name, but not just their surname. Further information can be found under Icelandic personal name .