The year is 1949 – a birthday party for seventy-year-olds from Hafnarfjörður.
A pleasant tradition has developed of inviting all those residents of Hafnarfjörður who turn 70 during the year to a party in Hásalir. Nearly 100 residents attended such a party last Friday.
A pleasant tradition has developed of inviting all those residents of Hafnarfjörður who turn 70 during the year to a party in Hásölum. Nearly 100 residents attended such a party last Friday. There, the group was introduced to Hafnarfjörður's services for senior citizens , a varied social life at Association of Senior Citizens in Hafnarfjörður as well as listening to interesting and entertaining stories from the year of birth 1949 from the Hafnarfjörður town historian.
More photos from the birthday can be found on Hafnarfjörður's Facebook page
Stories from the year of birth 1949
The year
1949 was in many ways a remarkable year, both in human history, in the history of Iceland but
also here in Hafnarfjörður. The world was still, to a certain extent, grappling with
the consequences of the Second World War, which were manifested, among other things, in the reconstruction and
financial difficulties widespread. This year the People's Republic of China was founded when
Communist forces drove nationalists into exile to Taiwan. The war between India and
Pakistan ended with the partition of the Kashmir region. NATO was founded in New York.
Israel was admitted to the United Nations. The Federal Republic of Germany, or
West Germany was established from the occupation zones of the Americans, British and French.
and the German Democratic Republic in the Soviet occupation zone and the Soviet Union did
their first test of an atomic bomb. So to name but one, some believe
that the big invention this year was the arrival of the German Currywurst in
Berlin.
On the weather and the economic situation
In Iceland, the weather was rather
unfavourable in 1949, precipitation was above average but temperatures were below average, around
In the spring, there was landfast sea ice for the north of the country and the harvest was generally rather
poor. It is safe to say that the single biggest event in the history of Iceland
This year has been about Iceland's entry into NATO and the unrest that followed.
subsequently. This year the first Icelandic sound film was premiered at the Gamla bíó but that
was the film „Between the Mountain and the Sea“ by Loftur Guðmundsson. The economic situation
The country was in a difficult position at that time, with devaluations, import restrictions, and rationing.
and strikes are common, which, among other things, led to the government collapsing and an election being held.
to the polls. This year, an innovation in traffic here was introduced when
Street lights were put into use at four junctions in Reykjavík. In a news report about them
The event said, among other things: „Experiments with the beacons give hope for a good outcome.'
of this innovation, and it is based primarily on the fact that all travellers
Turn the lights up to the maximum. Police officers will be on guard duty at the lighthouses until then.
to provide guidance as required.“[i] Other
An innovation worth mentioning, which was trialled in Iceland this year, is that a helicopter was
flew for the first time in Iceland in 1949, or as the phenomenon was called
at that time: „a helicopter“[ii].
Alright then
A lot also happened in Hafnarfjörður.
interesting in the year 1949. The town's population was 4,904 at the beginning of the year but to
By way of comparison, it should be noted that the town's population recently reached 30,000.
individuals. The cinemas
As usual in the town, they were popular and started the year with blockbusters. At the Hafnarfjörður Cinema
was the first film of the year, „Allt í lagi lagsi“, which was advertised as new and
Hilarious with the incomparable Abbott and Costello.[iii] Í
The town cinema, however, showed the epic film Monsieur Verdoux, „Very impressive,
A bizarre and unusually well-acted American blockbuster, written and directed by the
the world-famous comedian Charlie Chaplin. She was banned from being shown to under-16s.[iv]So, to stick to the art, came
Early in the year, news that the Hafnarfjörður Theatre Society was starting rehearsals for a new play.
a revue to be shown at the Town Cinema in the spring. The report stated that this revue
takes place „in these most recent and best of times of rationing and black market and takes
to treat various phenomena of the present moment. The revue has been carefully
The matter in question has been named the Golden Road. /…/ It is already apparent in everything.
the lead roles, but the theatre company's board wants to direct it towards young people in
To those in Hafnarfjörður who are interested in the performing arts, it should be noted that several matters are still unresolved.
supporting roles. Do these young people, of course, need to be able to sing something, or to
at least hummed, because of course there are plenty of songs in the revue.“[v]
Fire Investigation Committee and Fire Engine
Fire cases came before the town council.
at the end of January. A submission from the town's fire safety committee was then before the board, where
It was suggested that an engine be bought for the new fire engine because that vehicle had
such a weak engine that he could not get up the hills in Hafnarfjörður. In addition to this
The committee requested permission to convert a cable car that had been purchased.
had not yet been made by the Reykjavík Fire Brigade, just over a year before
useful. This matter was much debated in politics, but the outcome was that
The matter was referred to the town council and it was tasked with authorising the purchase of a new machine and
as well as making the cable car usable.[vi]Some things were considerably simpler in the past.
at that time but they are today. As an example of this, one can mention an advertisement that was
published in May 1949, which stated that all cars and motorbikes from Hafnarfjörður,
The parishes of Bessastaðir, Garðar, Kópavogur and Seltjarnarnes were to attend.
inspection at the Hafnarfjörður Goods Terminal over an 11-day period in early June.[vii]
Moving away from Bragg and switching to oil heating instead of coal
During the war years, there was some barrack housing in
in Hafnarfjörður, but this year work was carried out to remove them. The town council approved on
a meeting in May that „measures were already being taken to demolish the barracks, which is on
at the junction of West Street and Merkur Street, as well as a warehouse extension standing beside it
the barracks. Also, that other barracks, which have become dilapidated and are not in
for essential use, be removed from the town.“ As it was phrased in
the minutes.[viii] The Hafnarfjörður Swimming Pool opened in 1944. It is safe to say that everyone was of one mind that it was necessary
It was for the townspeople to set up a swimming pool in the town, but it was an uncovered sea pool.
The running of the pool went badly at first and attendance was not
good. In 1949, action was taken and the swimming pool was renovated, which involved
among other things, oil heating was installed in place of coal heating. It became
this was to ensure that the same temperature was better maintained in the pool and in the showers, or as
said in a contemporary news report: „It seems it is going to turn out well and make it easier to have
a constant temperature in the pool, so that swimmers need not fear that the pool
the water will be cold or not hot enough in the showers.“ [ix] Í
Subsequently, advertisements were published which stated, among other things, „With the others
With the new heating equipment, we hope it will be possible to increase the swimming pool's temperature.
significantly different from what it has been before. Hafnfirðingar, enjoy this fountain of health.
Swim and sin in the Hafnarfjörður Swimming Pool.“[x]
A year of major quotas and rationing
As previously stated, the year 1949 was a year
of severe embargoes and rationing, and one manifestation of this was how difficult it was for
people to acquire household appliances. In an article published in the middle of this year, it was
drawing attention to this and said among other things: washing machines and other
The household appliances of the modern age are neither seen nor obtained in this country, except on blacklists.
markets, or in lotteries. Most likely, that every single home, which
Anyone who needs to acquire these amenities must establish their own lottery to do so.
to obtain an import permit for the gems.[xi] On this
an interesting change occurred this year when the Electrical Equipment Factory in Hafnarfjörður, RAFHA,
began production of refrigerators. Around 100 refrigerators were produced in that first year.
but the factory's production capacity was about 500 cabinets a year, but that was limited.
on the condition that a foreign exchange licence would be obtained for the purchase of materials. These refrigerators
were produced in close collaboration with Electrolux in Sweden, but the cabinets were
all built and assembled here in the country. The storage space in these cupboards was 85
litres and it was considered a size suitable for the general public.[xii] I
I have previously mentioned the cinemas in town, but that remarkable novelty appeared in the summer.
In 1949 at the Bæjarbíó, the film then being shown there, „Hamlet“, which had been chosen
was the best film of 1948, was the first foreign-language film to be shown with
Icelandic text.[xiii]
Major construction in Hafnarfjörður
Major construction work was underway in
in Hafnarfjörður on behalf of the municipality in the summer of 1949 and then employed about two hundred
municipal workers. At the time, they were, among other things, laying a water supply from above.
Coldwater Basin down to the town, the extension of the southern harbour wall was worked on, equipped
There were two playgrounds, Sólvangur was under construction, Strandgatan was extended and connected.
by the Reykjanesbraut and the football pitch on Hvaleyrarholt was improved
and expanded. In addition, the municipality undertook major developments in Krýsuvík.
This summer, work has focused on the drilling rigs, construction and cultivation projects there.
Great political tension prevailed over all construction in Krýsuvík.[xiv] On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of Hellisgerði
This summer, new rules were introduced for visitors to the garden. These included, among other things
until running and games were strictly forbidden, as were shouting and other noises
that causes a disturbance or noise. Children were not allowed to stay in the garden except in
accompanied by adults and it was forbidden to go onto the grass with prams or
carts as well as other vehicles. Guests were required to obey in every respect.
instructions of the caretaker and he could turn guests out of the garden, if he
A good reason.[xv]
Innovations and pilot projects
In the autumn of 1949, an interesting experiment was conducted.
in Hafnarfjörður when a new machine was installed in a fish processing plant in the town. It was about
Speech about a German slicing machine that was installed as a pilot project. It is not long since
to say that this experiment was a complete failure, as it was carried out for a much
smaller fish than was caught off our coast. The vertíð cod off Iceland was much
larger than the one that was caught south of Germany, and so the engine was not suitable here in
Hafnarfjörður.[xvi]Another innovation here in Hafnarfjörður in 1949
was when the Painting Shop on Lækjargata opened a car service station. The equipment
At the garage, they were American and of the most advanced design, but they had been ordered.
to the country four years before their processing was delayed for this period there
where the investment licence was hard to obtain. In a news report on the opening of the service station, it said
„Are the premises of the Painting Studio the most pleasant and do they fully meet the requirements
of the times. Is it pleasing that this activity — getting the cars serviced with modern
methods — is now carried out here in Hafnarfjörður with such splendour, but previously
Vehicle owners had to take it to Reykjavík, which was very costly.
to bring about.[xvii]
A lacklustre sporting life and a tough election campaign
The sporting life in Hafnarfjörður was rather
The mediocre and uninteresting year 1949. Where the construction of the football pitch
The sport, which had been long-established, was little practised in the town this year. FH and
Haukar sent joint teams under the banner of ÍBH to the Icelandic Championships in men's and
women's handball, but both teams did poorly. The bright spot in
In the town's sporting history this year, the Icelandic record was set by FH's Sigurður.
Friðfinnsson in the decathlon and the revival of the Hafnarfjörður Swimming Championships.[xviii]. In the autumn, an election was held for the Althingi and
The election campaign in Hafnarfjörður was fierce. The contest was mainly between
Emil Jónsson, candidate for the Social Democratic Party, and Ingólfur Flygenring, candidate
of the Independence Party. Voter turnout in Hafnarfjörður was very good in this respect.
their turn, at around 92%, and then the People's Party and Emil got the better of it and
they won the parliamentary seats for Hafnarfjörður. It should, however, be noted that despite this victory
Emil's party then lost considerable support since the last election and
The Independence Party greatly increased its support, though not sufficiently to
their candidate would be elected. However, it goes without saying that both
The parties declared victory, one for winning the parliamentary seat and the other for
a significant increase in support since the last election.[xix]
Quota on cream for Christmas
As Christmas approached, it was announced
a notice in the newspapers about the rationing of cream. It said: „The Christmas cream which
will be sold in the dairy shops here in Reykjavík, in Hafnarfjörður and the South-West on
Tomorrow, everything will be rationed. Milk rationing depot no. 40 will be used.
for cream purchases, and one decilitre will be delivered with it, as and when
The cream supplies run out. The cream all comes from the north and it's almost
There are about 7,000 pots.“[xx]. Finally, it is only right to tell the truth.
the Christmas films that were shown in the Hafnarfjörður cinemas before Christmas 1949. In
The film „The Irish Wild Rose“ was shown at the town cinema, which was said to be great fun.
and a beautiful American musical comedy in natural colours but at Hafnarfjörður Cinema
The musical film „Three Rough Sisters“ was shown. It portrayed a sensitive and elusive
a love tragedy which, however, is resolved in an enjoyable and effective way, to everyone's delight.[xxi]
- [i]
Alþýðublaðið, 08. 11. 1949, p. 8 - [ii] Time,
15. 06. 1949, p. 1 - [iii]
The Morning Newspaper, 18 January 1949, p. 5 - [iv]
The Morning Newspaper, 18 January 1949, p. 5 - [v] Time,
19 January 1949, p. 8 - [vi]
The People's Will, 27 January 1949, p. 8 - [vii]
The Morning Newspaper, 3 May 1949, p. 10 - [viii]
Hamar, 16.05.1949, p. 1 - [ix] Hammer,
16.05.1949, p. 2 - [x]
Alþýðublaðið, 29 April 1949, p. 4 - [xi]
The Morning Newspaper, 23 June 1949, p. 8 - [xii] Time,
16 September 1949, p. 1 - [xiii]
The Morning Newspaper, 30 June 1949, p. 13 - [xiv]
Alþýðublaðið, 21 August 1949, pp. 1 and 3 - [xv] Hammer,
08. 08. 1949, p. 4 - [xvi]
Alþýðublaðið, 29 December 1949, p. 8 - [xvii]
Alþýðublað Hafnarfjarðar, 10 December 1949, p. 5 - [xviii] History
FH, pp. 68-69 - [xix]
Alþýðublaðið, 25 October 1949, p. 1 - [xx]
The Morning Newspaper, 23 December 1949, p. 1 - [xxi]
The Morning Newspaper, 24 December 1949, p. 13