What happened at Thristapar?

The last execution in Iceland. On January 12, 1830 an axe severed the heads of Agnes Magnusdottir and Fridrik Sigurdsson, convicted of the murders of Natan Ketilsson and Petur Jonsson at Illugastadir two years earlier. Farmers from across the district were ordered to attend and forbidden to look away, and the executioner was Gudmundur Ketilsson, the murdered man's own brother.

Who were Agnes Magnusdottir and Fridrik Sigurdsson?

Agnes was the housekeeper of Natan Ketilsson at Illugastadir on the Vatnsnes peninsula - the child of unmarried servants, able to read and write, and over thirty at the time. Fridrik came from Katadalur on the same peninsula and was eighteen. Others were convicted too: sixteen-year-old Sigridur Gudmundsdottir was pardoned by the king because of her age, and Fridrik's mother Thorbjorg Halldorsdottir was sentenced to five years in a Copenhagen prison.

Is the axe at Thristapar the real one?

No. The rust-brown axe sunk into a stone block at the end of the path is an art installation, part of the visitor site finished in 2023. The axe and the block actually used in 1830 are kept at the National Museum of Iceland in Reykjavik.

When did Iceland abolish the death penalty?

No execution has been carried out in Iceland since January 12, 1830. The penal code of 1869 still provided for the death penalty for serious crimes, and it was formally abolished in 1928. The other execution site travelers can visit is Drekkingarhylur at Thingvellir, where 18 women were drowned between 1590 and 1749.

How do you get to Thristapar and is there parking?

The hills sit on the north side of Route 1 about 20 km (12 miles) west of Blönduós, roughly three and a half hours from Reykjavik. There is a gated parking area by the road, and a paved footpath 140 m (460 ft) long leads to the execution site, about 200 m (650 ft) away. The site is free and open all year.

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