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Downtown in Reykjavík in Reykjavíkurborg, Höfuðborgarsvæðið, Iceland — North Atlantic and Artic Oceans (a Nordic Island)
 

Bernhöftstorfan / Bernhöft's Sward

 
 
Bernhöftstorfan Marker - English Side image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Andrew Ruppenstein, May 18, 2018
1. Bernhöftstorfan Marker - English Side
Inscription.  (English side:)

The name Bernhöftstorfa (Bernhöft's Sward) is derived from the T.D. Bernhöft bakery, which stood in Bankastræti 2. Bernhöft's house was built at the north end of the lot in 1938, along with the bakery, peat store, grain store and other storage buildings. Bernhöft's bakery, the first in Iceland, remained in business until 1931. Below the house, Bernhöft cultivated a garden and installed a water-pump, which was much used. The house survives almost unchanged. Neighbouring buildings, damaged by fire in 1977, have been restored in their original form.

The sculpture The Water Carrier from 1937 by Ásmundur Sveinsson (1893-1982) is dedicated to the women that carried water from the pump to the houses in town. The statue was meant to be placed here in 1949 but it was considered too unconventional. In 1967 it was cast in bronze and erected in Öskjuhlíð hill, but finally moved to this place in 2011. More sculptures by Sveinsson are on view at Ásmundarsafn museum.

"The mechanization of households is, when all comes to all, probably the progress that has benefitted women more than any
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legislation."
Bríet Bjarnhéðinsdóttir (1856-1940), a pioneer in the Icelandic women's movement


To the south of the bakery buildings is Gimli, built in 1905. The house was built almost as an advertisment, using precast concrete units from the Mjölnir factory, of which one of the owners was the mayor. The southernmost of the buildings, Amtmannsstígur 1, was built in 1838. The row of buildings that make up Bernhöftstorfa comprise an important aspect of the architectural history of Reykjavík.

In 1967 a development plan proposed constructing a city hall on the site, and moving the existing buildings to the Árbær open-air museum. At about that time a new building conservation movement came into being. The Torfa Movement was launched to campaign for the conservation of the buildings. After extended disputes, in 1979 the government agreed to conserve all the Bernhöftstorfa buildings.

The open-air chessboard was installed in 1981 with a chess set by sculptor Jón Gunnar Árnason.

(Icelandic side:)

Bernhöftstorfan dregur nafn sitt af T.D. Bernhöft bakara í Bankastræti 2. Íbúðarhúsið var reist nyrst á lóðinni árið 1834 ásamt brauðgerðarhúsi, móhúsi, kornhlöðu og öðrum geymsluhúsum. Þetta var fyrsta bakarí á landinu og starfaði hér til 1931.

Bernhöft ræktaði skrautgarð og lét setja upp vatnspóst
Bernhöftstorfan Marker - Icelandic Side image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Andrew Ruppenstein, May 18, 2018
2. Bernhöftstorfan Marker - Icelandic Side
sem var mikið notaður og nefndur Bakarapóstur eða Bernhöftspóstur. Íbúðarhúsið stendur enn lítt haggað en hin húsin skemmdust í eldi árið 1977. Þau hafa verið endurgerð og útlit þeirra fært til fyrra horfs.

Styttan Vatnsberinn frá 1937 eftir Ásmund Sveinsson (1893-1982) er minnisvarði um verkakonur sem báru vatn úr brunninum í hús bæjarins. Þegar setja átti styttuna upp árið 1949 þótti hún of óhefðbundin og hlutust af miklar deilur. Árið 1967 var styttan steypt brons og komið fyrir í Öskjuhlíð. Það var ekki fyrr en 2011 að Vatnsberinn var Ioks settur þar sem honum var ætlaður staður. Fleiri verk Ásmundar má sjá í Ásmundarsafni.

Vélvæðing heimilanna er, þegar öllu er ó botninn hvolft, líklega það framfaraspor sem reynst hefur konum notadrýgra en nokkur lagasetning."
Bríet Bjarnhéðinsdóttir


Næst fyrir sunnan bakarahúsin er Gimli, sem reist var 1905 sem íbúðarhús Knuds Zimsen borgarstjóra. Það var nánast reist í auglýsingaskyni því að í bygginguna voru notaðir steyptir steinar frá verksmiðjunni Mjölni en Knud Zimsen var einn af eigendum hennar. Syðsta húsið, Amtmannsstígur 1, var reist 1838 sem íbúðarhús Stefáns Gunnlaugssonar bæjar- og landfógeta og var kallað Gunnlaugsenshús. Síðar bjó þar lengi Guðmundur Björnsson landlæknir og var húsið þá nefnt Landlæknishús.

Húsaröðin er merkur hluti af byggingarsögu borgarinnar.
Bernhöftstorfan Marker - wide view image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Andrew Ruppenstein, May 18, 2018
3. Bernhöftstorfan Marker - wide view
Í skipulagstillögum frá 1967 var gert ráð fyrir að reisa stjórnarráðsbyggingu á torfunni og flytja húsin sem þar stóðu í Arbæjarsafn. Um svipað leyti reis upp hreyfing húsfriðunarfólks sem stofnaði Torfusamtökin til að berjast fyrir varðveislu húsanna. Eftir langvinnar deilur um framtíð Bernhöftstorfunnar samþykkti ríkisstjórnin 1979 að friðlýsa húsin.

Útitaflið var sett upp árið 1981 og myndhöggvarinn Jón Gunnar Árnason fenginn til að hanna tafimenn við það.

 
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: ArchitectureArts, Letters, MusicIndustry & Commerce. A significant historical year for this entry is 1938.
 
Location. 64° 8.818′ N, 21° 56.178′ W. Marker is in Reykjavík, Capital Region (Höfuðborgarsvæðið), in Reykjavíkurborg. It is in Downtown. Marker is at the intersection of Lækjargata and Bankastræti, on the right when traveling north on Lækjargata. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Reykjavík, Capital Region 101, Iceland. Touch for directions.
 
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Bernhöftshús (a few steps from this marker); Bakaríið / Bakery (a few steps from this marker); Gimli (within shouting distance of this marker); Forsætisráðuneytið / Prime Minister's Office (within shouting distance of this marker); Landlæknihúsið (within shouting distance of this marker);
Vatnsberrin / Watercarrier (1937), by Ásmundur Sveinsson image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Andrew Ruppenstein, May 18, 2018
4. Vatnsberrin / Watercarrier (1937), by Ásmundur Sveinsson
The marker is visible here in the background on the right.
Hressingarskálinn (within shouting distance of this marker); Menntaskólinn í Reykjavík / High School in Reykjavík (about 90 meters away, measured in a direct line); Þjóðfundurinn 1851 / The National Assembly of 1851 (about 120 meters away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Reykjavík.
 
Marker detail:<i>Water-carriers on Bókhlöðustígur in the early 1900s</i> image. Click for full size.
Photo courtesy of the National Museum of Iceland, circa 1910
5. Marker detail:Water-carriers on Bókhlöðustígur in the early 1900s
Bernhöft's House image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Andrew Ruppenstein, May 18, 2018
6. Bernhöft's House
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on August 27, 2023. It was originally submitted on August 29, 2018, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Lamorinda, California. This page has been viewed 189 times since then and 9 times this year. Photos:   1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. submitted on August 29, 2018, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Lamorinda, California.

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Mar. 28, 2024