Höfði is a house in northern Reykjavík

Reykjavík

Reykjavík is the capital and largest city in Iceland.Its latitude at 64°08' N makes it the world's northernmost capital of a sovereign state. It is located in southwestern Iceland, on the southern shore of Faxaflói Bay...

, the capital city of Iceland

Iceland

Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...

, built in 1909. Höfði is located at Félagstúni. Initially, it was built for the French

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 consul

Consul

Consul was the highest elected office of the Roman Republic and an appointive office under the Empire. The title was also used in other city states and also revived in modern states, notably in the First French Republic...

 Jean-Paul Brillouin in Iceland and was the exclusive residence of poet and businessman Einar Benediktsson

Einar Benediktsson

Einar Benediktsson was an Icelandic poet and lawyer.Einar Benediktsson's poetry was a significant contribution in the nationlistic revival leading to Iceland's independence. To this end, he was active both in establishing Landvarnarflokkurinn in 1902 and as the editor of Iceland's first daily...

 (1864-1940) for many years. It is best known as the location for the 1986 Iceland Summit

Reykjavik Summit

The Reykjavík Summit was a summit meeting between U.S. president Ronald Reagan and Secretary-General of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev, held in the famous house of Höfði in Reykjavík, the capital city of Iceland, on October 11–12, 1986...

 meeting of presidents Ronald Reagan

Ronald Reagan

Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....

 of the United States and Mikhail Gorbachev

Mikhail Gorbachev

Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev is a former Soviet statesman, having served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1985 until 1991, and as the last head of state of the USSR, having served from 1988 until its dissolution in 1991...

 of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. That effectively was a step to the end of the Cold War. Within the building the flags of the USA and the USSR are cross-hung to commemorate the meeting.

The city of Reykjavík purchased the house in 1958, restored it to its former glory. From that time used it for formal receptions and festive occasions.

On 25th September 2009, on the building's 100th birthday, Höfði was damaged in a fire. All irreplaceable artifacts were saved.

Telecommunications history

The building was used to make the first radio communications between Iceland and the outside world on 26th June 1905, when contact was made with Poldhu

Poldhu

Poldhu is a small area in south Cornwall, England, UK, situated on the Lizard Peninsula; it comprises Poldhu Point and Poldhu Cove. It lies on the coast west of Goonhilly Downs, with Mullion to the south and Porthleven to the north...

 in Cornwall, UK.

Local legend

The memoirs of one of the earliest occupants of Höfði state that the house is inhabited by the spirit of a young woman. Accounts vary on who she is but most commonly she is either a suicide or drowning victim. John Greenway

John Greenway

John Robert Greenway is a former British politician who sat as the Conservative Member of Parliament for Ryedale from 1987 until the constituency's abolition in 2010.-Early life:...

, who inhabited the house in 1952, insisted that it be sold and the British consulate moved elsewhere, because of what he called 'bumps in the night'. He even applied for special permission from the Foreign Office to do so. That same year the house was sold back to the Icelandic government.

Popular local legends differ from the accounts of the house's inhabitants; the most popular of which is that the house is a Viking burial site. For this reason locals say the liquor cabinet of the house is frequently raided by spirits.

The legend has even gained recognition by the Foreign Ministry who have officially stated that; "We do not confirm or deny that the Hofdi has a ghost".