Vesturbæjarlaug, also known as Sundlaug Vesturbæjar, is a

swimming pool A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, paddling pool, or simply pool, is a structure designed to hold water to enable Human swimming, swimming or other leisure activities. Pools can be built into the ground (in-ground pools) or built ...

in the

Vesturbær Vesturbær () is a district in Reykjavík in Iceland, comprising eight neighbourhoods west of the city center: ''Gamli Vesturbær'' , ''Bráðræðisholt'' , ''Grandahverfi'' , ''Hagahverfi'' , ''Melar'' , ''Skjól'' , ''Grímsstaðaholt'' , ''Skil ...

district in

Reykjavík Reykjavík ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland, on the southern shore of Faxaflói bay. Its latitude is 64°08' N, making it the world's northernmost capital of a sovereign state. With a po ...

, the capital of

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

. It has a 12.5×25 m main swimming pool with depth ranging from 0.9 to 3.9 m. There is also an adjacent playpool, several hot tubs, a cold tub, outdoor showers and a sauna. The pool was opened on November 25 1961. It had two "firsts" for Icelandic swimming pools: the large playpool for children, and the spiral-shaped hot tubs, with dimensions based on the pool of

Snorri Sturluson Snorri Sturluson ( ; ; 1179 – 22 September 1241) was an Icelandic historian, poet, and politician. He was elected twice as lawspeaker of the Icelandic parliament, the Althing. He is commonly thought to have authored or compiled portions of the ...

in Reykholt. These design elements were reused on a larger scale by architect

Einar Sveinsson Einar Sveinsson (16 November 1906 – 12 March 1973) was an Icelandic architect. He was the City Architect of Reykjavík between 1934 and 1973, and widely considered to have played a key role in shaping the appearance of Reykjavík in the mid-20th ...

for the much larger

Laugardalslaug Laugardalslaug (, "pool of Laugardalur") is a public thermal baths and swimming pool complex located in the Laugardalur district of Iceland's capital Reykjavík. With an indoor Olympic-size swimming pool, a 50-metre-long outdoor swimming pool, a 40 ...

, which opened in 1968, and the design of the hot tubs was widely copied by other Icelandic swimming pools over the next years. The pool house was designed by architect Bárður Ísleifsson, but the hot tub and outdoor area was designed by

Gísli Halldórsson Gísli Halldórsson (2 February 1927 – 27 July 1998) was an Icelandic actor of theatre, radio, film and television, and one of the most popular Icelandic actors of the late twentieth century. He is known internationally for playing the lead r ...

. The pool reception area was initially decorated with wall paintings by British-Icelandic artist Barbara Árnason, who drew inspiration from the saga ''

Harðar saga ok Hólmverja Harðar saga ok Hólmverja or Harðar saga og Hólmverja () is one of the sagas of Icelanders. It is preserved in two medieval, vellum manuscripts, Reykjavík, Stofnun Árna Magnússonar, AM 556a 4to ff. 70r-88r (from c. 1475), and the fragment AM ...

'', where Helga Haraldsdóttir saved her two sons by swimming across

Hvalfjörður Hvalfjörður (, "whale fjord") is situated in the west of Iceland between Mosfellsbær and Akranes. The fjord is approximately 30 km long and 5 km wide. The origin of the name Hvalfjörður is uncertain. Certainly today there is no pr ...

. Most of these decorations were removed in 1995, but a small part remains on the ceiling. Vesturbæjarlaug was the first swimming pool in Iceland that was designed for leisure, and not just

swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, or other liquid, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Locomotion is achieved through coordinated movement of the limbs and the body to achieve hydrodynamic thrust that r ...

. Since it opened it has been a popular hub for the neighborhood where people meet and chat.

References

Swimming venues in Iceland Buildings and structures in Reykjavík {{Iceland-struct-stub