Birthday greeting from the President of Iceland on the centenary of Hellisgerði

Birthday greeting from the President of Iceland, Guðni Th. Jóhannesson

Dear residents of Hafnarfjörður and other listeners

On the centenary of Hellisgerði, I send you all my best wishes – best wishes and thanks. I have many fond memories of this delightful spot, first of trips with my parents in my childhood and later with my own children. Admittedly, Hellisgerði is a stone's throw from a major thoroughfare, in the heart of a bustling town with a hive of activity and industry. Yet the garden provides a safe haven from the hustle and bustle, a nature lover's retreat where it is good to lose track of time and place, and to enjoy its beauty and the good company.

I hope that Hellisgerði continues to flourish, in both its literal and figurative sense. It is true what is said in the fine poem by Guðlaug Pétursdóttir about the cheerful town of Hafnarfjörður, which looks towards the sun: „Though your lava fields are rugged, there is no better shelter anywhere.“ And nowhere is there a better place to find that truth than in Hellisgerði, where cold lava and warm vegetation call to each other and the imagination can so easily run wild.

Dear residents of Hafnarfjörður, from here on Álftanes, you receive a wholehearted greeting from your neighbours. Heartfelt congratulations once again on the anniversary of Hellisgerði. And to those who have not been there, I say this, quoting lines from a poem by Guðmundur Friðjónsson from Sandur about the birch grove of Hafnarfjörður, a sanctuary and holy place: „Have you been to Hellisgerði / Hafnarfjörður's garden? / If not, make haste!“