At the turn of the last century Reykjavík had just begun to expand out of the oldest part of the city, the narrow spit of land between the downtown lake Tjörnin and the harbor. Merchants and bakers set up shops along Laugavegurinn street, an old path which connected downtown with the geothermal pools in Laugardalur, where Reykjavík women washed their laundry in the hot water.
The westernmost part of Laugavegur was called Bakerstreet (Bakarabrekka), due to the large prominent windmill seen in the above photo. The mill ground grain for Bernhöftsbakarí, the bakery of Bernhöft. Bernhöftsbakarí, which prides itself on being Iceland's oldest bakery, still exists, although it has relocated several times since the 19th century. Bernhöftsbakarí is currently on the bottom floor of one of the highrise buildings along the North Shore Sculpture and Scenic Walk, near the Sun Voyager sculpture.
The mill, however, was torn down more than a century ago. Today a local coffee chain operates a café where the mill was located.
Only one of the buildings seen in the above photo is still standing, the house on the corner of Skólavörðustígur and Laugavegur.
You can get a better sense of downtown at the turn of the century in this photo:
Seen from the top of Skólavörðuholt hill, where Hallgrímskirkja church stands today, you can see how small the city was at the turn of the century. The street running along the center of the photo is Skólavörðustígur street!
At the turn of the last century Reykjavík had just begun to expand out of the oldest part of the city, the narrow spit of land between the downtown lake Tjörnin and the harbor. Merchants and bakers set up shops along Laugavegurinn street, an old path which connected downtown with the geothermal pools in Laugardalur, where Reykjavík women washed their laundry in the hot water.
The westernmost part of Laugavegur was called Bakerstreet (Bakarabrekka), due to the large prominent windmill seen in the above photo. The mill ground grain for Bernhöftsbakarí, the bakery of Bernhöft. Bernhöftsbakarí, which prides itself on being Iceland's oldest bakery, still exists, although it has relocated several times since the 19th century. Bernhöftsbakarí is currently on the bottom floor of one of the highrise buildings along the North Shore Sculpture and Scenic Walk, near the Sun Voyager sculpture.
The mill, however, was torn down more than a century ago. Today a local coffee chain operates a café where the mill was located.
Only one of the buildings seen in the above photo is still standing, the house on the corner of Skólavörðustígur and Laugavegur.
You can get a better sense of downtown at the turn of the century in this photo:
Seen from the top of Skólavörðuholt hill, where Hallgrímskirkja church stands today, you can see how small the city was at the turn of the century. The street running along the center of the photo is Skólavörðustígur street!
