Description of the attraction
One of the most famous houses in Reykjavik, Hövdi, which means “cape”, was built in Norway in 1909 for the French consul of Iceland, then disassembled was transported to Reykjavik and installed in a sparsely populated place on a promontory in the north of the capital. The house is wooden, with white walls, built in the Art Nouveau style, which was fashionable at that time. On it you can still see the abbreviation of the French Republic, the name of the consul and the year of construction.
Khovdi's house is amazingly beautiful. It is even difficult to determine what makes it so attractive - whether it is its own architectonics, made according to all the canons of high art, or its extremely harmonious fusion with the surrounding landscape. It is simply impossible to take your eyes off him.
Since 1958, Hovdi has been a municipal property and is used as a guest house for foreign leaders and celebrities invited by the government. Winston Churchill and Marlene Dietrich stayed there at different times.
The Icelandic Summit held within its walls in 1986 - the meeting of Mikhail Gorbachev and Ronald Reagan - brought worldwide fame to the House of Khovdi. This event marked the end of the Cold War and contributed to the fall of the Iron Curtain.
Khovdi is closed to ordinary citizens and tourists. However, both those and others constantly revolve around him. But it's not just the beauty of the house that attracts them. Rumor has it that it is full of ghosts. The famous Icelandic poet, Einar Benedichtson, who once owned this house, complained that he was the ghost of a woman in white every night. He lost sleep and was soon forced to sell the house. Other stories are told. Whether there is truth in them or not, no one knows, but it is quite obvious that this house, endowed with such magical beauty, cannot but keep a secret.
