Short walk to the next bench

Brúkum bekki is a community project that has been running since 2013 and has now reached the point where residents of Hafnarfjörður and other visitors can walk through almost all of the town's neighbourhoods and rest on a bench at intervals of about 250–300 metres. It is a joint project of the Eldrunarráð, the Félag eldri borgara í Hafnarfirði, the Félag sjúkraþjálfara and the City of Hafnarfjörður.

At the spring meeting of the Eldri borgarar Council of Hafnarfjörður on 5 May 2012, an agreement was signed for the community project, „Brúkum bekki“, between the Council, FEBH, the Physiotherapists' Association and the Municipality of Hafnarfjörður. Since then, 43 benches have been installed. The aim of the project is to promote increased physical activity among older people and enable them to go for walks in their local area. The project involves getting municipalities, businesses, associations, institutions and even individuals to support the project by sponsoring the creation of a bench or benches. The benches are manufactured by Málmsteypan Hella and are marked with the donors' names or the name of the person the donor wishes to dedicate the bench to. Málmsteypan Hella also donates the eleventh bench. 

Weary benches – a new map of walking routes

A new map of Hafnarfjörður, showing all walking routes with benches at 250 to 300-metre intervals, has now been published. A wall map can be found in all sports halls, swimming pools, at Hraunsel, 33 Hjallabraut, Hrafnista, Höfn and at the Hafnarfjörður service centre.  

Use the benches – a new map of the walking trails can be found here

A partnership that has resulted in 43 benches

In the project's first year, businesses and organisations in Hafnarfjörður were immediately approached about getting involved. In the first phase, which was implemented in 2013, a total of 30 benches were installed. The City of Hafnarfjörður provided ten benches for the project, and Málmsteypan Hella, the Hring women's association and the Trade Union provided two benches.  Actavis, Arion Bank, Atlantsolía, Hvalur, IKEA, Verkfræðistofa VSB, Kiwanisklúbburinn Hraunborg, Félag eldri borgara Hafnarfirði, Starfsmannafélag Hafnarfjarðar, Sjúkraþjálfarinn, Bandalag kvenna Hafnarfirði, The Lions Club of Hafnarfjörður and the Rotary Club of Hafnarfjörður each then donated a bench. In the second phase of the project, the design department of the Vocational School of Hafnarfjörður was approached, now the Technical College, to assist in the design and construction of benches to be placed at the main natural gems and viewpoints in Hafnarfjörður, such as Ástjörn and Hvaleyrarvatn, and an approved design proposal is now on the table.  In the third phase, which began in 2015, the following companies, organisations and individuals joined as partners: Fjarðarkaup, Íslandsbanki, the Freemasons' Lodges Hamar and Njörður, the Kiwanis Club Eldborg, Guðlaugur Jónasson, Málmsteypan Hella, Valitor with 3 benches and the Höfn Care Centre with 2 benches. A total of 11 benches. This year, two benches have been added, one from the Port of Hafnarfjörður and the other from the Lions Club Kaldá, so in total, 43 benches have been installed by the project. These are purely in addition to the benches that the City of Hafnarfjörður already had on the walking trails.

The project continues

The project is ongoing, and anyone who wishes to get involved is encouraged to contact the project management directly. The project manager is Gylfi Ingvarsson on: 896-4001, email address: gylfiing@simnet.is. The person also receives reviews of projects and suggestions for new walking routes. 

The project management, on behalf of the partners, thanks everyone involved with „Brúkum bekki í Hafnarfirði“ for the excellent collaboration!