Hólavallagarður Cemetery Reykjavik, Reykjavik

Reykjavik is home to several burial grounds, including Hólavallagarður Cemetery, one of the city's oldest, situated centrally. Its name translates to "garden on a hill." This cemetery features moss-covered paths and gravestones, often lit by sunlight filtering through trees. On cloudy, rainy days in autumn, the atmosphere here turns gray, mysterious, and somewhat foreboding.

Also known as the Old Churchyard, Hólavallagarður began its service in 1838, taking over from an earlier Viking-era burial site. Located just a short distance from the central pond of Reykjavik, this cemetery sits atop a small hill. It's noteworthy for the artistic gravestones crafted by some of Iceland's renowned sculptors, like Einar Jónsson.

For over 150 years, Hólavallagarður served as a key burial site in Iceland. Prominent figures like Jón Sigurðsson, a leader in Icelandic independence, painter Jóhannes Sveinsson Kjarval, and Ingibjorg Bjarnason, the first female parliamentarian, are interred here. The cemetery also includes graves of the 1918 Spanish flu victims and a monument dedicated to French sailors.

Despite reaching full capacity in the early 1930s, families who secured plots beforehand can still conduct burials here. What sets Hólavallagarður apart is its lush greenery, a rarity in Iceland's sparse tree landscape, with willows, spruces, poplars, birches, and rowan trees surrounding the graves.

An Icelandic belief holds that the first person buried in a cemetery guards it and protects subsequent interments. For Hólavallagarður, this guardian is Guðrún Oddsdóttir, who passed away in 1838, the year the cemetery was established.