The City of Reykjavík has reached an agreement to buy the oldest house in downtown Reykjavík for over ISK 260 million (USD 2.5 million/EUR 2 million), Vísir reports. The house, located at Aðalstræti 10, was built in 1772. Mayor of Reykjavík Dagur B. Eggertsson stated that plans for the house include an exhibition about Reykjavík’s history from the time of settlement until the present day.
“Minjavernd [the company which currently owns the property] has agreed to sell us the house so we are starting to develop an exhibition and hope it can be ready by next year, when it will be 100 years since Iceland gained independence,” stated Dagur.
“Here we’d like to see an exhibition about Reykjavík’s beginning and development. Here we want visitors to be able to get an idea of how Reykjavík came into being. There are many interesting research projects now in relation to archaeological discoveries in the city center and we would also like to respond to this great interest in urban planning and the development of the city, so that people can see how the city has developed,” he added.
Plans for the project include connecting the house with The Settlement Exhibition, located at Aðalstræti 16, via an underground passage.
Dagur stated the new exhibition should be ready by spring 2018.
