Tales of the Table · Tales of the Table
Gúttó við Tjörnina (1887–1968) – Lost Tables
In 1887 the Good Templars' Reykjavík lodge Eining was granted a plot by Tjörnin on condition the house would move if Alþingi ever needed the land, and that autumn they put up a single-storey, timber-framed, iron-clad hall – the Good Templar House, known to everyone as Gúttó, which gave the street Te
In 1887 the Good Templars' Reykjavík lodge Eining was granted a plot by Tjörnin on condition the house would move if Alþingi ever needed the land, and that autumn they put up a single-storey, timber-framed, iron-clad hall – the Good Templar House, known to everyone as Gúttó, which gave the street Templarasund its name. Its hall held about 300 people and served as Reykjavík's de facto town hall, where the town council met from 1903 to 1933; the Free Church held services there until 1903, and plays were staged there before Iðnó was built. Dances were strictly alcohol-free, and stewards reputedly searched guests for smuggled bottles. Musicians such as Bragi Hlíðberg, Jan Morávek, Skapti Ólafsson and José Riba played there, and the SKT dance-song contests run by Freymóður Jóhannsson launched many well-loved Icelandic songs. As newer halls opened the old house declined, a campaign to move it to the Árbær open-air museum failed, and it was demolished in autumn 1968; the site is now a car park for Alþingi.
Parking for Alþingi
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