The Althing House Legacy
Established in 930 A.D. the Icelandic Parliament, also known as the Althing, is the oldest Parliament in the world still in existence. It wasn’t until almost a millennium (950 years) later the parliament members finally got their own building, the Althing House in Reykjavik. It was built in celebration of the 1000-year anniversary of Reykjavík’s first settlement in 877 A.D. The building was finished in 1881.
MR - Reykjavik College
Before the Parliament building was erected, the politicians had their offices at Reykjavik College on Lækjargata.
Shifting Foundations: A Change of Plans
Not wanting to waste any more time, they transported all the stones needed for the building onto the property and dug a hole for the foundation. They were just about ready to get started on the building.
With a hole in the ground and all the materials ready to use, the men in charge changed their minds. The Althing House would not be built on Arnarhóll after all, but further east in the city by Austurvöllur. The workers had no choice. They covered the hole they had spent much time and energy digging and knew that soon they would be transporting all the building material to yet another location.
Kirkjustræti seen eastward. Althing House is yet to be built, it was still just a kale garden. In the background is MR where the Althing was holding its meetings. On top of the hill in the background is the current location of Hallgrímskirkja. Painting by Jón Helgason
The new place wasn’t decided yet, but they had an area in mind near Austurvöllur. A few men were sent to knock on doors in the area, offering to buy their property to build a house for the Althing. However, the homeowners were not so willing to give up their homes as was hoped for. Many didn’t want to sell, but one person, Halldór Kr. Friðriksson, who lived on Kirkjustræti 12, agreed to sell his kale garden for 2,500 Icelandic krónur.
View westward on Kirkjustræti. Austurvöllur is on the right and Reykjavik Cathedral is on the left. The small house on the left side (southside) of Kirkjustræti is Halldór’s house on Kirkjustræti 12. The kale garden can be seen fenced in on the east side of the house. Photo Sigfús Eymundsson
Public Dissent: Arnarhóll vs. Austurvöllur
This change in location caused a disagreement among the public. Some thought it should be built on Arnarhóll because it was the original settlement site. A journalist from Norðlingur newspaper even wrote about how Arnarhóll was the right place, blaming Governor Hilmar Finsen for not wanting to give up his cows’ pasture on Arnarhóll. This new spot was surely the ugliest spot possible, thought the journalist.
This was the perfect ranting opportunity for the journalist who kept on about we didn’t need an Althing at all the way things were being managed. Governor Hilmar Finsen was making all the decisions anyway. If only the previous governor, Jón Sigurðsson (1811-1879), had still been alive and gotten a few words in, he would never let such a thing happen.
Foundation Woes and Ambitious Plans
Kirkjustræti in ca. 1874. On the left is the Cathedral of Reykjavik (Dómkirkjan) and on the right is Halldór Kr. Friðriksson kale garden and home. In the middle is the Pond (Tjörnin). Those who have been there can see how close the Pond used to be to the church. The picture appeared in Harper’s Weekly. Journal of Civilization. Vol. XVIII.-No. 927. New York, Saturday, October 3, 1874. pp. 826-828.
It was finally time to get started on the building. The plan was to build using Icelandic stone, decorated with an image of Iceland´s first settler, Ingólfur Arnarson.
The first floor was to be the national library, the second floor for the Althing, and the third floor to the Antiquities Museum. The attic, a very cluttered and tight space, was designed for the Althing meeting rooms.
The designing and building of the Althing House was awarded to the Danish architect F. A. Baldt. He was highly respected and paid his men much more than his counterparts. In fact, when the governor found out what he was doing, he said it was against the law to pay the Icelandic citizens this much more. He was paying his staff ISK 3.00/hr instead of 1.75-2.00/hr. Undeterred, Baldt staunchly resisted any pressure to reduce wages, standing firm in his commitment to fair compensation for his skilled labor force.
Mystical Craftsmanship
It was rumored that Baldt knew kaldabras or cold welding (soldering iron together without fire). During the construction of the Althing House, this method was kept secret and was only known to those who specialized in ironwork. Those who worked on the building were certain this type of soldering could not be done without otherworldly help, namely with help from the devil. It was a method of inquiring evil spirits or other wicked acts.
This is the recipe that was used back in the days of the construction of the Althing House. This formula was kept secret and only known to welders.
When the tools broke, as often happened during constructions, Baldt left with his broken tools only to return shortly after with them fully repaired without any physical signs of soldering with fire. It was obvious that it was magic … kaldabras.
Cornerstone Commemoration: Messages and Symbolism
As is the norm when building houses in Iceland, when the time came to lay the cornerstone, a message was inserted inside it. For the Althing House, it was a silver plaque which was inscribed with, among other things:
“According to the finances of Iceland for the years 1880 and 1881 and Althing’s decree 1879, this house is built for the Althing and the country´s galleries on 16th year of governances of Kristian, the King, IX…” (translated by author of article).
A scripture was also engraved into the plaque: Joh. 8:32 The truth shall set you free (Sannleikurinn mun gjöra yður frjálsa).
The building itself was dedicated to the history and the cornerstone was dedicated to democracy and respect of Iceland.
Cornerstone Unveiling: A Grand Ceremony in 1880
June 9, 1880, was the official ceremony for the laying down of the cornerstone. The silver plaque along with the blue prints, or a model replica of the building, were put on display in a big tent set up in the park (Austurvöllur) across the street for everyone to see. They put up three poles in the foundation. The two end poles carried the Icelandic emblem, which was a falcon with a blue background.
On one of them was written: with laws shall the land be built and on the other science strengthens all achievements (með lögum skal land byggja and vísindin efla alla dáð respectively). The middle pole carried the royal flag and the emblem with the king´s name, Kristian IX, on it.
Coat of Arms of Denmark was the first national emblem where Iceland, Faroe Islands, and Greenland had their own symbol of representation (Iceland is the cod fish). Prior to this, they were represented by the Coat of Arms of Norway. The kings under this emblem were Kings Frederick VI, Christian VIII, Frederick VII and Christian IX of Denmark. Sodacan
Trumpets blasted and the people joined in by singing Martin Luther’s psalm A Mighty Fortress is Our God which he wrote in 1529 (original: Ein’ feste Burg ist unser Gott, Icelandic: Vor guð er borg á bjargi traust).
When the singing was over, the governor of Iceland, Hilmar Finsen, put the silver plaque, along with all the valid Danish coins inside a carved-out portion of the cornerstone. A stone cover was then placed on top and cemented shut.
In his speech, Hilmar Finsen asked God to bless the building and all the work that went on inside as long as the freedom was based on the truth. Then the bishop tapped the stone three times and said In the name of the Holy Trinity (Í nafni heilagrar þrenningar).
Spectral Tales
Rumors of ghosts inside the building have been heard and told by many of Reykjavik’s residents. One is of a reporter working late one evening in the building. Something piqued her curiosity about the attic, so she decided to go explore. She went up into the attic and what she saw up there has never been properly described, except as a horrible nightmare of a ghost.
The type of ghost she saw goes by the name mara and is known to harass people in their sleep and suck out their happiness. It attacks people in their sleep by embracing them with a horrible nightmare. Sometimes they step on or lie on top of the sleeping person to suffocate them.
The name mara is the same as mare in nightmare. Educated people often called it succubus or incubus, which are ghosts who lie down on top of people and copulate while they sleep. Painting: Nightmare by Henry Fusi, 1781
The sculptor and clairvoyant, Vagna Sólveig Vagnsdóttir, is known for her art. Some people, including herself, claim there may be sorcery embedded in her art.
Vagna’s father, Vagn, recorded rhymes, verses, and stories which can be found in the online collection on Ísmús. Her grandmother, Margrét Sigurðardóttir was Jón Sigurðsson’s sister. Jón was better known as President Jón (Jón Forseti). He was the leader of the Icelandic Independence Movement. His contribution to Iceland’s independence was so great that his birthday, June 17th was to become Iceland’s independence day.
Vagna is certain a bad spirit is poisoning the minds of the thingmen. She believes as soon as the thingmen enter the building, their demeanor changes completely by becoming dark and heavy. The building is sick and the best thing to do is to remove the Althing from the building to another place altogether.
Unraveling the mysteries
What reason anyone or anything has to haunt this building is unknown. Perhaps it has to do with a spirit tied to one of the artifacts in the antiquity museum or maybe Baldt released evil spirits into the building. Maybe it has something to do with the history of this area, which has countless stories of otherworldly visitations to the likes of those at Hotel Borg.
Reykjavík’s oldest church and cemetery was just down the street. When the cemetery stood in the way of the city’s growth, excavations began before all the graves were transferred elsewhere. Several graves were disturbed and remains for scattered at the surface.
A few houses down, on Kirkjustræti 2, was the location of the first hospital in Reykjavik (1866) and the first location of the medical school (1876). Kirkjustræti 12 on which the property the Althing House was built on, housed the first medical research labs in Reykjavik. A building in the backyard was used to dissect bodies. This building was later used to house the Nurses Association.
Whatever the story is, the Althing’s House continues to be considered haunted.
Sources: Houses on kirkjustrætiKirkjustræti 12The Althing house Reykjavík 1000 years oldConstruction of the Althing HouseConstruction of the Althing House (2)A Mighty Fortress is Our God, YouTubeJón Sigurðsson, funeralArticle on the Althing House What is a “Mara”A ghost story essay Vagna Sólveig VagnsdóttirHauntings in the Althing House Kaldabras
