Bæjartröllin

Background

History & Background

The Sagnatröll project was conceived by Áki Gränz as a cultural initiative to preserve and communicate local place names and stories. Reykjanesbær maintains information about the figures as part of its municipal cultural material.

Bæjartröllin is part of the Sagnatröll project in Reykjanesbær, a collection of stone troll figures placed around the municipality. The project is the idea of Áki Gränz and was created to help preserve local place names and stories by giving them a physical presence in the modern town and surrounding landscape. Reykjanesbær explains that Icelanders have a long storytelling tradition in which dramatic natural landscapes, place names, land spirits, elves and trolls frequently appear together. The Sagnatröll project translates that tradition into public art. Different troll figures have been installed at locations around the municipality, including areas near Ægisgata, Flugvallarvegur, Viking World and Vogastapi. Bæjartröllin is listed by the municipality as one of the named Sagnatröll works. Available official material does not provide enough detail to support a separate invented legend for these specific figures, so the attraction should be understood through the documented purpose of the collection: keeping regional stories and names visible and encouraging people to notice the folklore attached to the landscape. For visitors, Bæjartröllin works best as part of a walk or small public-art search around Reykjanesbær rather than a destination requiring a long detour.