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 and associated activities. Pools can be built into the ground (in-ground pools) or built abo ...

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 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 ...

, the capital of

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 has a 12.5×25 m geothermally heated outdoor 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, a steam room and saunas. 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 th ...

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 ...

, 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 Barbara Moray Williams Árnason (19 April 1911 – 1975) was an English-born Icelandic artist, known for book illustrations, engravings in wood, and watercolours. Born in Petersfield, she was the twin sister of writer and illustrator Ursul ...

, 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 long and wide. The origin of the name Hvalfjörður is uncertain. Certainly today there is no presence of whales i ...

. 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, such as saltwater or freshwater environments, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Swimmers achieve locomotion by coordinating limb and body movements to achieve hydrody ...

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

References

Swimming venues in Iceland Sports venues in Reykjavík 1961 establishments in Iceland Sports venues completed in 1961 {{Iceland-struct-stub