Sólvangur 70 years old – congratulations, residents of Hafnarfjörður!

Holistic service centre for older people in Hafnarfjörður

On this day in 1953, the nursing home Sólvangur was dedicated on a sunny, picturesque site and in a beautifully golden town plot above Hörðuvellir, overlooking Hamarskotslæk towards the sea, where it still stands. Today, Sólvangur houses 71 nursing rooms across two buildings: 60 rooms in a new building that was officially opened in the summer of 2019, and 11 rooms on the second floor of the old Sólvangur building after it underwent a renovation. The old Sólvangur building now houses, in addition to the eleven nursing rooms, 14 day care places, 12 specialised day care places for people with dementia, which opened in October 2021 following a complete refurbishment of the ground floor, and the Sólttún Health Centre, which has 39 new places for elderly rehabilitation opening in autumn 2022. Sóltún Heima is also based at Sólvangur. The service, which opened in autumn 2022, involves a new approach to supporting older people receiving home care in the capital region and aims to, like other preventative services at Sólvangur, to assist and empower older people to remain in independent living for longer with a better quality of life. The garden at Sólvangur has also been beautifully redesigned with the needs of older and dementia-affected people in mind.

„Sólvangur holds a special place in the minds and hearts of us Hafnfirðingar, as many have fond and happy memories of it. We are extremely proud of the development and expansion of services that has taken place on the Sólvangur site in recent years, in collaboration with the state and with Sóltún Care Services. A service centre for older people has now been established at Sólvangur, in the best location in town, which will continue to grow and develop in step with the times.“ says Rósa Guðbjartsdóttir, mayor of Hafnarfjörður.

„We are very proud of the diverse range of services we have developed at Sólvang for the elderly, and are particularly grateful for the excellent collaboration with the Municipality of Hafnarfjörður, which has taken great pride in beautifying the surroundings and facilities at Sólvang in recent years, so that our residents can feel as comfortable as possible here. and hopefully manage to maintain the good spirit that has always been a part of Sólvangur,“ says Halla Thoroddsen, CEO Sóltúns heilbrigðisþjónustu ehf.

Cake and a reading at Sólvangur today to mark the occasion. The mayor presented the staff and residents with flowers and best wishes on behalf of the City of Hafnarfjörður. From left: Helga Sæunn Sveinbjörnsdóttir, Director at Sólvangur; Halla Thoroddsen, CEO of Sóltún; Rósa Guðbjartsdóttir, Mayor of Hafnarfjörður; and Bryndís Guðbrandsdóttir, Director of Sóltún's Day and Home Care Services.

The Story of Sólvang

The history of Sólvangur dates back to 1929, when the need for a care home for the elderly was first discussed. In 1935, a home for the elderly and a canteen were established at 26 Austurgata, but it soon became clear that the building did not meet the requirements of the time, and in 1944 it was therefore decided to erect a new home for the elderly with a sick and maternity ward. At that time, the construction of the Bæjarbíó cinema was nearing completion, and it was then decided that all profits from the cinema would be channelled into the new care home. In late 1946, construction of the care home began, based on plans by Einar Erlendsson, a building surveyor, on behalf of the State Architect.

A ceremonial event on 23 October 1953 – guests included the President and Mrs Eysteinn.

The new care home was inaugurated on the 25th. October 1953 at a grand ceremony, and among the guests were the President and Mrs Ásgeir Ásgeirsson, who had earlier that day paid a visit to the residents of the old people's home at 26 Austurgata. A major milestone had been reached in cultural affairs with the construction of this building in Hafnarfjörður. It was mainly Hafnarfjörður craftsmen who were involved in the construction in one way or another. The brothers Tryggvi and Ingólfur Stefánssynir were the building contractors, Sigurður Flygenring designed the heating, sewerage and water systems, while all the plumbing was carried out by the Vélsmiðjan Klettur engineering firm. Valgarð Thoroddsen, the electricity superintendent, and Guðmundur Sveinsson, the master electrician, were responsible for the electrical drawings and wiring. The installation of a complete radio system and a public address system was handled by Friðrik Jónsson, the telecommunications engineer, while all the town's painters carried out the painting. The town's main furniture workshops took care of the joinery, and electrical equipment was supplied by Rafha. Reykjalundur made the bed bases, and Benedikt Bergmann, a wholesaler in Reykjavík, supplied the medical equipment and tableware.

Unchanged operations until 1960

The house had four storeys. On the ground floor, there was a kitchen, storage rooms, and in the north end a laundry, while in the south end was a small infirmary. The second and third floors of the building housed a care home, and the top floor was for staff, which was not long afterwards converted for use by the elderly. The maternity ward was also on the second floor, but had its own entrance and was completely separate from the rest of the building's operations. The boiler room was in the basement. The operations of the Sólvang nursing home remained largely unchanged until 1960, when a health centre was established. In the same year, the innovation of providing residents with instruction and guidance in arts and crafts was introduced, a programme which remains popular to this day. Due to a loss-making operation at Sólvang's maternity ward for several years, it was decided in 1976 to cease its operations and relocate the ward to Reykjavík. Work then began on renovating the second floor; this included replacing the insulation, covering the balconies as had been done on the third floor, and greatly improving the nurses' facilities. In 1978, the possibility of building a single storey on top of the building was explored. This idea had previously been discussed but, as before, it was not deemed advisable. It was then investigated whether it was possible to build over the balconies to gain additional space; this idea was implemented and completed in early 1979. On the 50th anniversary of the Sólvangur Care Home, its name was formally changed to Sólvangur Nursing Home, which merged with St. Joseph's Hospital on its 80th anniversary under the name St. Joseph's Hospital-Sólvangur. So, when it was decided to sell St. Joseph's Hospital in 2011 and move its operations to Reykjavík, Sólvangur was run as an independent institution. In 2017, construction began on a new building at the western end of Sólvangur and its operations were put out to tender. In July 2019, the new building was then inaugurated at a ceremony, and Sóltún Elderly Care Services took over the running of Sólvangur Nursing Home, which had been run by the state since 1991. The renovation of the older building then began, as it had reached the end of its useful life. The ground floor was refurbished for day care, the second floor was converted into 11 single rooms for the nursing home and put into use in February 2022, and in autumn 2022, the third and fourth floors were opened for a new rehabilitation service for the elderly. Sóltún Health Centre.

Previous announcements about the development

• New nursing home at Sólvangur opened today | Hafnarfjörður (hafnarfjordur.is)
• Four hens move into Sólvang | Hafnarfjörður (hafnarfjordur.is)
• Social services for successful ageing | Hafnarfjörður (hafnarfjordur.is)
• Innovation in elderly care to be established at the former Sólvang | Hafnarfjörður (hafnarfjordur.is)
• Sóltún Health Centre – a new approach to supporting older people | Hafnarfjörður (hafnarfjordur.is)
• Status of affairs at Sólvangur | Hafnarfjörður (hafnarfjordur.is)
• New day care unit for people with dementia | Hafnarfjörður (hafnarfjordur.is)
• Day care at Sólvangur reopens | Hafnarfjörður (hafnarfjordur.is)