Walking - in gardens: An assessment of the performativity of spaces and places in Húsavík Gardens - Jan Aksel Harder Klitgaard

Introduction
Through the heart of the small north Icelandic fishing town Húsavík runs the river Búðará emptying the lake Botnsvatn above the town and separating the town in a northern and southern part. For centuries the locals have farmed the banks on both sides of Búðará and kept their livestock in enclosures close to their homesteads. As the town expanded during the 20th century and incorporated many of the home-fields into more urban areas, the farms were pushed further away from the river. However not all former home-fields were transformed into building sites. On the southern banks of the river an area, outlined by the streets Garðarsbraut and Reykjaheiðavegur to the west and to the south, and the hill Skógargerðismelur to the east, was given by the town council to the local women’s society, Kvenfélag Húsavíkur, with the purpose of landscaping a garden for the locals and guests to enjoy. The project of landscaping the garden, colloquially called Skrúðgarðurinn today, was launched 16th of July 1975 when Kvenfélagið and members of the local Rotary Club planted 17 Larch trees and six Rowans. All together that year, 391 trees and shrubs were planted in the Húsavík Gardens.
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