On August 17th and 18th, 2019, Skagabyggð and Skagaströnd will commemorate 200 years since the birth of Jón Árnason, national librarian and folklore collector. He was born at Hof in Skagabyggð on August 17th, 1819.
The program begins with a mass at 11:00 on August 17th in Hofskirkja, where Árni, Jón's father, served. At 12:00, Dagný Úlfarsdóttir, the head of Skagabyggð, will unveil a historical plaque at the Skagabúð community center and Vilhelm Vilhelmsson will give a talk about one of the residents of Hof. A symposium will begin in Fellsborg on Skagaströnd at 13:30, where Dagný Úlfarsdóttir will welcome guests and the President of Iceland, Guðni Th. Jóhannesson, will give a speech. Three scholars: Rósa Þorsteinsdóttir, Kristján Sveinsson and Ólína Kjerúlf Þorvarðardóttir, will give a talk about Jón Árnason. Between events, music will be performed under the direction of Hugrún Hallgrímsdóttir. After the symposium at 16:30, Halldór Ólafsson, the head of the Skagastrand local government, will give a speech and the President of Iceland, Guðni Th. Jóhannesson unveils a relief of Jón Árnason at Spákonufellshöfði, by sculptor Helgi Gíslason. A historical exhibition about Jón Árnason will then be opened at the University of Iceland's Research Center for the Northwest in the Old Merchants' Hall at 5:30 p.m.
On Sunday, August 18th, at 9:00 AM, there will be a hike to Spákonufell under the guidance of Ólafur Bernódusson, but we will gather at Fellsborg and from there we will drive to the golf lodge where the hike begins.
People are encouraged to attend all programs and everyone is welcome.
The program is a collaborative project between the National and University Library of Iceland, Skagabyggð and Skagastrand.