On the path to the marvelous Gullfoss waterfalls stands a monument to Iceland’s first environmental activist and the heroine of Gullfoss, Sigridur Tomasdottir. Thanks to her, we can all still enjoy their beauty. Tomasdottir (1871-1957) was born, raised, and died on a sheep farm near the waterfalls. She and her sisters cared about the area, created a path, and guided the visitors to the waterfalls. In 1907, foreign investors worked on plans to build a hydroelectric dam across the Hvítá River. Tomasdottir was determined to cancel the project, even though she never got official education, and she had to fight the county’s powerful and wealthy men. She arranged protests and often traveled the 120 km to Reykjavík, sometimes by foot, to meet with government officials and submit legal claims to preserve the waterfalls (her lawyer got later elected the first president of Iceland, Sveinn Bjornsson). Eventually, the project got canceled funding issues. The land returned to the people of Iceland, who officially declared it a conservation site in 1979. The monument is a bas-relief, created by the Icelandic sculptor Ríkarður Jónsson. Read more...