On 17 and 18 August 2019, Skagabyggð and Skagaströnd will mark 200 years since the birth of Jón Árnason, National Librarian and collector of folk tales, who was born at Hof in Skagabyggð on 17 August 1819.
The programme begins with a church service at 11:00 on 17 August in Hof church, where Jón’s father Árni served as priest. At 12:00 Dagný Úlfarsdóttir, head of the Skagabyggð council, will unveil a history sign at the community centre Skagabúð, and Vilhelm Vilhelmsson will give a talk on one of the people who farmed at Hof. A symposium begins in Fellsborg in Skagaströnd at 13:30, where Dagný Úlfarsdóttir will welcome the guests and the President of Iceland, Guðni Th. Jóhannesson, will give an address. Three scholars, Rósa Þorsteinsdóttir, Kristján Sveinsson and Ólína Kjerúlf Þorvarðardóttir, will give talks on Jón Árnason. Between the events there will be music directed by Hugrún Hallgrímsdóttir. After the symposium, at 16:30, Halldór Ólafsson, head of the Skagaströnd council, will give an address, and the President of Iceland, Guðni Th. Jóhannesson, will unveil a relief of Jón Árnason by the sculptor Helgi Gíslason at Spákonufellshöfði. Then, at 17:30, a historical exhibition on Jón Árnason will open at the University of Iceland’s Research Centre in Northwest Iceland, in Gamla kaupfélagshúsið (the old co-operative building).
On Sunday 18 August at 9:00 there will be a walk up the mountain Spákonufell, led by Ólafur Bernódusson. Walkers will gather at Fellsborg and drive from there to the golf clubhouse, where the walk begins.
Everyone is encouraged to come to all the events, and all are welcome.
The programme is a joint project of the National and University Library of Iceland, Skagabyggð and Skagaströnd.
Event programme (PDF, in Icelandic)