Seltjarnarnes, (pop. 4,322) a town on a peninsula west of Reykjavík which gained municipal rights in 1974. On the hill Valhúsahæð the falcon farm of the King of Denmark was once located, exporting some 200–300 bird per annum, each of them worth four horses. The first view–dial to be put up in Iceland is on Valhúsahæð. Nesstofa, a stone built house from 1761–63, at the request of the Danish government, for the newly appointed Director of Public Health, Bjarni Pálsson. The house was designed by Jacob Fortling, mason to the Danish court. It was built close to the old farmhouse. The stone in the house is Icelandic dolerite and was carved by a Danish stonemason. The stones were cemented with chalk imported from Denmark. In the house was a flat and an office for the Director, and also a pharmacy which was the first in the country. In the keeping of the National Museum since 1979 and now houses a Medical Museum. The birthplace of Sveinbjörn Sveinbjörnsson (1847–1926), composer of the Icelandic national anthem. The northernmost part of Seltjarnarnes peninsula, including the lighthouse, is a nature reserve and public park. The island Grótta, with its lighthouse, can be reached dry–footed at low tide, but care must be taken as the tide can rise quite swiftly and cover the causeway in less than the time it takes to walk across it. Medical centre, swimming pool.