Geldinganes

 island, peninsula

Geldinganes is a loosely connected headland to the north and northeast of the spit of land Gufunes. It connected with the mainland by an isthmus, which was flooded during high tides, but at the end of the 20th century a road was built there to start a new harbour project in 1999, which was abandoned in 2004. Geldinganes was a part of the Gufunes estate and for centuries it was used for the keeping of the live stock used to feed the Royal Danish gyr-falcons. During those centuries, the Icelanders were obliged to catch and feed those falcons for the Danish kings and a special aviary was built at the estate Bessastadir for the purpose. This aviary was moved to Reykjavik and reconstructed at the westernmost end of the present Harbour Street (Hafnarstraeti), where it still stands and still is known by the name “The Falcon House”. The export of falcons continued up to the turn of the 18th century.

Geldinganes was the property of the Danish Royal Court and was considered abandoned, when it was sold in 1840. In 1924 it and a few other farms became the property of the municipality. For years on end the Equestrian Association Fakur used Geldinganes for pastures. During World War II, the allied forces built an airstrip on the headland.