Tales of the Table · Lost Tables · Austurvöllur · 1946–today
One ballroom, four lives on Austurvöllur
Few rooms in Reykjavík have danced through as many eras as the hall at Thorvaldsensstræti 2, right on the square in front of Parliament.
The house dates from 1878 and started life as a girls' school. From 1946, as Sjálfstæðishúsið, it held dances every night, and Aage Lorange's band played packed cabarets and revues.
In 1963 it became Sigtún, with bands like Brimkló and Lónlí Blú Bojs – until Sigtún moved to Suðurlandsbraut in 1973. After years as a staff canteen, the room came back to life in 2001 as NASA, a fixture of the Iceland Airwaves festival.
In 2012 NASA closed to make way for a hotel, to loud protests. The ballroom was taken down and rebuilt as a near-identical copy, and since 2023 it has hosted concerts again as Sjálfstæðissalurinn. Same corner, same dance floor – fourth life.
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