27.12.2006


Nine






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  Sveinn assumes he´s finally located suitable material for his essay, which is supposed to describe the village of Laugarvatn as a school-residence and tourist resort clearly:

 

  "One can read in Kristnisaga (Christendom´s History), The Literary Societie´s version published in 1858, p. 25, that the Icelanders became Christians in the year 1000 on an assembly (Althingi) by Oxarriver (Axe´s-) on Thingvellir (assembly-fields).

 

   Everyone should get baptised, and thus it says:   

 

  "Every Northlander and Southlander were baptised in Reykjalaugu (smokepool) in Laugar-dalur, when they rode from the assembly."

   One could point out that these hot springs in question have been named after the farm Reykir, but it´s quite clear that these hot springs are none
other than those who still belong to the farm Laugarvatn.

 

    If that is the case one might also assume, that the lake Laugarvatn used to be called Reykjavatn after the old farm.

 

   But when a big part of the assembly was baptised in a hot spring, people must have found it more suitable  to name it  Laugarvatn, thus giving both the farm and lake a reminding name about this extraordinary event, when so many heathens took holy baptism."

   This will be a fine first part, the graduating student is thinking quite pleased with himself.

   -But then there´s the continuation,  he mumbles to himself at the same time as he leans back in his chair looking at the beautiful clear sky through the
big rectangled window.

 

  Damned, I must carry on,  he mutters when he returns to his authority.

    "The campus at Laugarvatn is the largest in a countryside in Iceland.

 

  The Regional School at Laugarvatn is the oldest school there, founded in 1928.

 

  The Junior College was founded in 1953, The Housewifes-School in 1942 but the Athletic Teacher Training School in 1932.

 

  Then there´s a school for children which serves the surrounding county with seven age-classes.

 

    There are beds for about seven hundred pupils in the village.

 

     Belonging to the community there´s quite extensive subterranean heat which is utilized for warming up houses, steam-baths and the swimming pool.

 

  A lot of greenhouses are also located there in the community.

   History tells us, that when Jon "Bishop of Holar" Arason and his sons had been decapitated at Skalholt in the year 1550 their corpses were washed in Vigdulaug (consecrated-spring) before they were transported to their burial at Holar.

 

  By the hot spring there are a few stones which have been named ...

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