Tales of the Table · Tales of the Table
Hótel Reykjavík (c. 1905–1915) – Lost Tables
Built in 1905 as one of the biggest timber houses in town, Hótel Reykjavík was run by Einar and Margrét Zoëga and was thoroughly modern for its day, with gas lighting, running water and a large, bright dining hall. It was where the well-to-do held banquets and weddings, and in 1907 Alþingi hosted a
Built in 1905 as one of the biggest timber houses in town, Hótel Reykjavík was run by Einar and Margrét Zoëga and was thoroughly modern for its day, with gas lighting, running water and a large, bright dining hall. It was where the well-to-do held banquets and weddings, and in 1907 Alþingi hosted a banquet there for King Frederik VIII. After the Good Templars bought Hótel Ísland in 1906, it was for a time the only place in Reykjavík licensed to sell wine, until prohibition took effect on 1 January 1915. In the early hours of 25 April 1915, just after a wedding party had ended, fire broke out in the hotel and spread through the heart of town, destroying thirteen buildings on Austurstræti and Hafnarstræti. The great fire of 1915 led to new fire-safety rules and the end of timber building in central Reykjavík.
Stone commercial buildings on Austurstræti; the fire changed how Reykjavík was built
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