571A - Parks IV - The Akureyri Park

The Akureyri Park is run by the town as a botanical garden and a nature park. The latter was formally opened to the public in 1912 while the botanic garden opened in 1957. The Park Society was founded in 1909 with Sigridur Sæmundsdóttir as its first president. Margrethe Schiöth contributed to the growth and development of the park for more than thirty years. The Akureyri Embellishment Society promoted the acquisition of a remarkable and unusual botanical collection owned by Jón Rögnvaldsson, a pioneer in the cultivation of plants in Iceland. Now the park contains nearly 7000 foreign species and most of the Icelandic flora.