User:Jóhannesbjarki/Aðalstræti

Aðalstræti ("Main street") is a street in Reykjavík's city centre. It is the oldest treet in the city and among the most historic streets. When Iceland was still under Danish rule, Aðalstræti went under the Danish names Hovedgaden ("The Head Street") or Adelgaden ("The Main Street").

History
The Northern periphery of Aðalstræti contains the oldest known settlement of Iceland, the remains of a farm dated from the years 868-874 AD. This farm is likely the farm of settler Ingólfr Arnarson, who settled in Reykjavík. The farm remains, which were excavated in 2001, are now on public display in an underground museum.

The street name Aðalstræti literally translates to Main Street. The street owes its name to the fact that it was the first designated street in Reykjavík, having been laid out in the 18th century when Reykjavík was industrializing. However, the street had probably been formed long before this time due to its use as a trodden path by people travelling from houses to Víkirkirkja Church, which was located at the South end of the street. The well for Reykjavík was located in Aðalstræti and today an ornamental hand pump can be seen across the street from Aðalstræti 12.

Aðalstræti today
Today, Aðalstræti runs between two intersections and has a total length of around 135 meters. An intersection with Hafnarstræti and Vesturgata marks the beginning of Aðalstræti in the North and an intersection with Túngata and Suðurgata in the South marks the end of the street. Three small streets run to the West from Aðalstræti, Grjótagata, Brattagata and Fischersund and two street run to the East, Veltusund and Kirkjustræti. Currently, Aðalstræti is open for traffic as a one-way street from South to North with a maximum speed of 30 km/h.

In the Western part of Aðalstræti there are three historic buildings: Ísafoldarhús, Geysishús og Aðalstræti 10, the oldest standing building in Reykjavík. The Eastern side of Aðalstræti is adjacent to Ingólfstorg Plaza and Fógetagarðurinn, a small and historic park. The street also houses some hotels, offices and residential buildings.

Role in house numbering
The Northern end of Aðalstræti is used as a reference point for house numbers in Reykjavík. In every street in Reykjavík, house numbers begin at whichever end is closer to the Northern end of Aðalstræti and house numbers which are on the left hand side as seen from the reference point are odd numbers and those on the right hand side are even numbers.

Due to Aðalstræti having been the first street in Reykjavík, the streets radiating from the reference point got their descriptive names, Austurstræti ("East Street"), Suðurgata ("South Road") and Vesturgata ("West Road"). There is no "North Street" because there used to be sea North of Aðalstræti, althought today there are landfills there.

Historic buildings in Aðalstræti

 * Fjalakötturinn, the world's oldest cinema at the time it was razed in 1985. It has been rebuilt in the Selfoss town centre.
 * Aðalstræti 10, the oldest standing house in Reykjavík, built in 1762.
 * Ullarstofan ("The Wool Room") - Ullarstofan was the headquarters of the industrialisation programme of Reykjavík. It was razed and another house was built in 1830, which still stands and hosts the restaurant Uppsalir.