Guide de Voyage : Sigríður Tómasdóttir Monument at Gullfoss

Sigríður Tómasdóttir monument at Gullfoss. Photo: RG72, CC BY-SA 4.0

The Sigríður Tómasdóttir Monument (Minnisvarði um Sigríði Tómasdóttur í Brattholti) is a rough basalt standing stone with a bronze portrait relief, set on the grassy slope beside the path between the upper viewing area and the lower platform at Gullfoss waterfall.

It honours Sigríður Tómasdóttir of Brattholt (1871–1957), the farmer's daughter remembered as the woman who saved Gullfoss from being dammed, and is often called Iceland's first environmentalist.

Key Takeaways About Minnisvarði um Sigríði í Brattholti

• Basalt stone with a bronze relief by Ríkarður Jónsson, erected in 1978, the year before Gullfoss was protected
• Honours Sigríður Tómasdóttir of Brattholt (1871–1957), who fought the 1907 lease to dam Gullfoss and is called Iceland's first environmentalist
• Stands beside the path between the upper car park and the lower viewing platform, a few hundred metres from the visitor centre
• Free to visit, open all hours, about 120 km from Reykjavík on paved Route 35
• She is buried at Haukadalur church near Geysir, not at the falls

Why visit the Sigríður Tómasdóttir Monument

Gullfoss belonged to the farm of Brattholt, where Sigríður was born on 24 February 1871 and lived almost her whole life (she died in Hafnarfjörður in 1957).

She never went to school but was well read, a good illustrator and a skilled embroiderer. With her sisters she guided visitors to the falls, and the sisters are credited with building the first path down to the water.

In 1907 foreign investors began acquiring rights to harness the Hvítá river for hydroelectric power, and Gullfoss itself was leased out.

Sigríður's father Tómas Tómasson had refused an Englishman's offer of 50,000 krónur for the falls early that year, reportedly saying "I will not sell my friend", but later in 1907 the landowners, Tómas among them, signed a lease on the waterfall. Sigríður spent the following years fighting it.

She made repeated journeys to Reykjavík, about 120 km each way and by some accounts on foot, to argue her case with officials, and she is said to have threatened to throw herself into the falls if the dam was built. Her lawyer was Sveinn Björnsson, who later became Iceland's first president.

She lost in the courts, but the campaign made her a public figure. The foreign parties gradually lost interest; the rental payments stopped in 1928 and the lease lapsed.

Sigríður sold Brattholt in 1939 to Einar Guðmundsson, who had been fostered at Brattholt as a boy and who completed what she had begun: the state bought the falls in 1945, Einar donated adjoining land in 1974 and 1976, and Gullfoss was formally protected as a nature reserve on 9 March 1979.

The monument was raised in 1978, the year before. The bronze profile of Sigríður, in a traditional Icelandic headdress with her braid over her shoulder, is by sculptor Ríkarður Jónsson (1888–1977), one of Iceland's best-known portrait artists. Her name is cast into the relief below the portrait.

The Sigríðarstígur information trail, opened at Gullfoss in 2011, tells her story on panels near the falls.

Bronze relief of Sigríður Tómasdóttir. Photo: RG72, CC BY-SA 4.0

How to get to the monument

The monument is at Gullfoss, about 120 km east of Reykjavík on Route 35 (Biskupstungnabraut), roughly 1 hour 45 minutes by car via Selfoss or Þingvellir. From Geysir it is a further 10 km.

The nearest villages are Reykholt and Flúðir, each about 30 km away. Route 35 is paved and open all year, though it can be icy in winter.

There are two car parks. The upper one, by the visitor centre, café and shop, is the main one; parking was free at the time of writing.

From there a paved path and a long flight of wooden steps lead down the slope to the lower viewing area beside the falls.

The monument stands on the grass beside this path, a few metres below the upper cliff edge, a few hundred metres from the visitor centre.

Best time to visit

Gullfoss and the monument are open all year, 24 hours a day.

In summer (June to August) the path and steps are dry and you can combine the monument with the walk to the lower platform and the spray-soaked ledge beside the falls.

In winter the steps down to the lower level are sometimes closed for ice, but the upper path, where the monument stands, is usually passable.

Sigríður monument at Gullfoss in snow. Photo: Leslie Seaton, CC BY 2.0

Safety and practical tips

• The monument is roped off with a low wire fence; please stay on the path and do not climb onto the stone.
• The wooden steps are steep and wet from spray; hold the handrail. In winter they can be sheet ice and are closed when conditions are poor.
• There is no entrance fee for Gullfoss or the monument. Toilets, a café and a shop are at the upper car park; check current opening hours before you go.
• Weather at Gullfoss is often colder and windier than in Reykjavík. Bring a waterproof layer; the spray reaches the upper path on windy days.
• A marked trail of about 3 km runs from the falls to Brattholt farm, Sigríður's home, if you want to follow her story further (about 6 km return).