Hendrikshús will rise again at a new Hafnarfjörður address

The historic Hendrikshús will be rebuilt at Bröttukinn 29 after being relocated from Strandgata 17 in Hafnarfjörður, Morgunblaðið reports. The house is too deteriorated to move in one piece.

A proposal for the old Strandgata plot would allow a larger building designed to fit the streetscape. Hafnarfjörður’s 2001 town-centre development plan envisages the house making way for new construction and aims to improve the streetscape along Strandgata and Austurgata.

Hendrikshús was built in 1890 by Hendrikk Hansen, who was of Danish descent, and named after him. He built it for himself and his future wife, and they moved in on the second day of Christmas that year. According to family accounts, construction cost about 700 krónur, considered a substantial sum at the time.

The house is protected because of its historical significance, and the Cultural Heritage Agency has approved its relocation. It has served as a private home and housed small shops. Work is under way at Bröttukinn: the basement’s exterior walls have been cast, and carpenters are working on the formwork for the interior walls. The plan is to restore the house to its original appearance.