Breiðholt () is a southeastern

district A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

Reykjavík Reykjavík is the Capital city, capital and largest city in Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland on the southern shore of Faxaflói, the Faxaflói Bay. With a latitude of 64°08′ N, the city is List of northernmost items, the worl ...

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

. It includes three neighbourhoods: ''Neðra-Breiðholt'' (Bakkar , Mjódd and Stekkir ), ''Efra-Breiðholt'' (Hólar , Berg and Fell ) and ''Seljahverfi'' (Sel ). It is one of the largest districts in Reykjavík, with a population of around 20,000. The neighborhood has the highest amount of foreign-born residents of any in Reykjavík.

History

Breiðholt was originally a farm, first mentioned in the 10th century, in recent times a small village. From the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

to 1960, the population of Reykjavík grew from 46,578 to 72,270. Inadequate housing had been a significant problem, forcing many families to live in the cold, frail barracks that the British and American armies had left behind. In 1965, Breiðholt was mostly an outer boundary to the inhabited areas of Reykjavík. During the 1960s, Reykjavík underwent an unprecedented boom period, and in 1962 work began implementing zoning plans for all of Reykjavík, lasting until 1983, and Italian architect Aldo Rossi was influential in the development. Due to population pressure in the 1960s, development plans were published for Breiðholt in 1966 in the hills east of the city, with the idea of building single-family houses and low-priced apartment buildings mixed together. Breiðholt was divided into three smaller neighborhoods. The first part (lower Breiðholt) arose between 1966–1973, the second in 1980 and the third in 1985. In 1999, Breiðholt was the highest populated area in Reykjavik with 22,030 inhabitants, but as of 2012 the population had fallen to 20,546. The film ''

Children A child () is a human being between the stages of childbirth, birth and puberty, or between the Development of the human body, developmental period of infancy and puberty. The term may also refer to an unborn human being. In English-speaking ...

'' is set in this suburb of the Icelandic capital, and portrays a grittiness which is in "stark contrast to the tourist-friendly portrayal of Reykjavík."

Landmarks

The district contains a large school which serves the wider area and has a significant foreign population and several colleges and other schools which have sprung up in recent times, and it also contains the 25 metre Breiðholtslaug leisure pool, the Landsbankinn building, and the SAMfilms studios next to it. To the southeast is Lake Elliðavatn, fed by the

Elliðaár The rivers Elliðaár (, "Elliði's rivers") are situated in the Reykjavík area in the south-west of Iceland. Two small rivers have their source in the volcanic mountain range of ''Bláfjöll'' and stream down to Elliðavatn lake at the eastern s ...

river which flows through the district, and to the east is Lake Rauðavatn.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Breidholt Districts of Reykjavík