|
Íslenskir Kóngar
'' Íslenskir kóngar'' ('Icelandic Kings') is a 2012 novel by Einar Már Guðmundsson, published by Mál og Menning, in Reykjavík. Summary The novel is a satire of the ups and downs of the petty aristocracies of rural twentieth-century Iceland, depicting the fortunes of the imaginary Knudsen dynasty in the fictional fishing town of Tangavík, supposedly situated on the south coast of Iceland, near the Vestmannaeyjar. The dynasty's intertwined relationships with the right-wing Independence Party (Iceland), Independence Party (usually referred to simply as 'The Party'), its widespread alcoholism, and the criminal activities it undertakes under the Party's shelter, are key themes. The novel involves a large cast, most of whom are represented in the family tree above. However, it focuses on the charismatic Arnfinnur Knudsen, born in 1930 at the beginning of the Great Depression, and dying on 6 October 2008, the day of Geir Haarde, Geir Haarde's infamous 'Guð blessi Ísland' speech ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Einar Már Guðmundsson
Einar Már Guðmundsson (born 18 September 1954 in Reykjavík) is an Icelandic author of novels, short stories, and poetry. His books have been translated into several languages. Background Einar grew up in Reykjavík. In 1979 he received his Bachelor of Arts at the University of Iceland in comparative literature and history. He subsequently worked in the comparative literature department of the University of Copenhagen. Today, the author lives in Reykjavík, is married, and has five children. Works Einar's first book was poetry and his best-known work is his novel '' Englar alheimsins'' (''Angels of the Universe''), subsequently adapted as a film. * 1980: '' Sendisveinninn er einmana,'' poetry ( Gallerí Suðurgata 7, Reykjavík) * 1980: '' Er nokkur í Kórónafötum hér inni?,'' poetry (Gallerí Suðurgata 7, Reykjavík) * 1981: '' Róbinson Krúsó snýr aftur,'' poetry (Iðunn, Reykjavík) * 1982: '' Riddarar hringstigans,'' novel ( Almenna bókafélagið, Reykjavík) * ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mál Og Menning
Mál og menning (, ) is an Icelandic publishing house, established in 1937. The press has published the work of many of Iceland's best known authors, among them Þórbergur Þórðarson, Jóhannes úr Kötlum, Svava Jakobsdóttir, Þórarinn Eldjárn, and Einar Kárason. As of 2007 its books are published by the publishing house Forlagið, of which Mál og menning is a controlling shareholder. Origins The publishing company Mál og menning was established on 17 June 1937, combining the press Heimskringla, which Kristinn E. Andrésson had founded in 1934, Ragnar í Smára's company Smári og fleirum, and the Félag byltingarsinnaðra rithöfunda (the Society of Revolutionary Authors, which included amongst others Kristinn E. Andrésson himself, Halldór Laxness, Steinn Steinarr, Jóhannes úr Kötlum and Halldór Stefánsson). Mál og menning was originally a book club, to which people paid a subscription in order to receive books in the post. The first seven years sa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Reykjavík
Reykjavík is the Capital city, capital and largest city in Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland on the southern shore of Faxaflói, the Faxaflói Bay. With a latitude of 64°08′ N, the city is List of northernmost items, the world's northernmost capital of a sovereign state. Reykjavík has a population of around 139,000 as of 2025. The surrounding Capital Region (Iceland), Capital Region has a population of around 249,000, constituting around 64% of the country's population. Reykjavík is believed to be the location of the first permanent settlement in Iceland, which, according to , was established by Ingólfr Arnarson, Ingólfur Arnarson in 874 Anno Domini, AD. Until the 18th century, there was no urban development in the city location. The city was officially founded in 1786 as a trading town and grew steadily over the following decades, as it transformed into a regional and later Country, national centre of commerce, population, and governmental activities. Re ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vestmannaeyjar
Vestmannaeyjar (, sometimes anglicized as Westman Islands) is a municipality and archipelago off the south coast of Iceland. The largest island, Heimaey, has a population of 4,414, most of whom live in the archipelago's main town, Vestmannaeyjabær. The other islands are uninhabited, although six have single hunting cabins. Vestmannaeyjar came to international attention in 1973 with the eruption of Eldfell volcano, which destroyed many buildings and forced a month-long evacuation of the entire population to mainland Iceland. Approximately one-fifth of the town was destroyed before the lava flow was halted by application of 6.8billion litres of cold sea water. Geography The Vestmannaeyjar archipelago is young in geological terms. The islands lie in the Southern Icelandic Volcanic Zone and have been formed by eruptions over the past 10,000–12,000 years. The volcanic system consists of 70–80 volcanoes both above and below the sea. Vestmannaeyjar comprises the following isla ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Independence Party (Iceland)
The Independence Party ( ) is a Conservatism, conservative List of political parties in Iceland, political party in Iceland. It is currently the second largest party in the Althing, Alþingi, with 14 seats. The chairman of the party is Guðrún Hafsteinsdóttir and the vice chairman of the party is Jens Garðar Helgason. It was formed in 1929 through a merger of the Conservative Party (Iceland), Conservative Party and the Liberal Party (Iceland, historical), Liberal Party. This united the two parties advocating the dissolution of the History of Iceland#Iceland under Norwegian and Danish kings (1262–1944), Union of Denmark and Iceland; dissolution was achieved in 1944, during the German occupation of Denmark. Since its formation in 1929, the party has won the largest share of the vote in every election except 2009 Icelandic parliamentary election, 2009 and 2024 Icelandic parliamentary election, 2024, when it fell behind the Social Democratic Alliance. Every Independence Party le ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and business failures around the world. The economic contagion began in 1929 in the United States, the largest economy in the world, with the devastating Wall Street stock market crash of October 1929 often considered the beginning of the Depression. Among the countries with the most unemployed were the U.S., the United Kingdom, and Weimar Republic, Germany. The Depression was preceded by a period of industrial growth and social development known as the "Roaring Twenties". Much of the profit generated by the boom was invested in speculation, such as on the stock market, contributing to growing Wealth inequality in the United States, wealth inequality. Banks were subject to laissez-faire, minimal regulation, resulting in loose lending and wides ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Geir Haarde
Geir Hilmar Haarde (; born 8 April 1951) is an Icelandic politician who served as prime minister of Iceland from 15 June 2006 to 1 February 2009, and as president of the Nordic Council in 1995. Geir was chairman of the Icelandic Independence Party (Iceland), Independence Party from 2005 to 2009. From 2015 to 2019 he served as the ambassador of Iceland to the United States and several Latin American countries. Since 2019 he has been a chief representative at the World Bank Group. Geir initially led a coalition between his party and the Progressive Party (Iceland), Progressive Party. After the 2007 Icelandic parliamentary election, 2007 parliamentary election, in which the Independence Party increased its share of the vote, Geir renewed his term as prime minister, leading a coalition between his party and the Social Democratic Alliance. That coalition resigned in January 2009 after 2009 Icelandic financial crisis protests, widespread protests following an 2008–2011 Icelandic fina ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Guð Blessi Ísland
''Guð blessi Ísland'' ('God bless Iceland') is the sentence with which the Icelandic Prime Minister Geir Haarde ended his television broadcast to the Icelandic nation on 6 October 2008, shortly after the beginning of the 2008–11 Icelandic financial crisis. The speech described the perilous state of the Icelandic banking sector and some of the government's efforts to improve the situation. Geir's closing words quickly became a symbol of the crash in Iceland. Analyses In Geir's own account, the words were intended to be a 'friendly farewell' ('vinaleg kveðja') rather than a prayer, but the words were widely understood as a sinister indication of the desperate straits in which Iceland found itself. As analysed by Eiríkur Bergmann, On Monday 6 October 2008 Prime Minister Geir Haarde addressed the nation on television. Apart from the traditional annual New Year’s Eve address, this is something our PM never does. We were all watching, gathered round TV sets and computer scre ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2008–2011 Icelandic Financial Crisis
The Icelandic financial crisis was a major financial crisis, economic and political event in Iceland between 2008 and 2010. It involved the default (finance), default of all three of the country's major privately owned commercial banks in late 2008, following problems in refinancing their current liability, short-term debt and a bank run, run on deposits in the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Relative to the size of its economy, Iceland's systemic banking collapse was the largest of any country in economic history. The crisis led to a severe recession and the 2009 Icelandic financial crisis protests. In the years preceding the crisis, three Icelandic banks, Kaupthing Bank, Kaupthing, Landsbanki and Glitnir (bank), Glitnir, multiplied in size. This expansion was driven by ready access to credit in international financial markets, in particular money markets. As the 2008 financial crisis unfolded, investors perceived the Icelandic banks to be increasingly risky. Trust in the ba ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Natur & Kultur
Natur & Kultur is a Swedish publishing foundation with its head office in Stockholm. It is known for an extensive series of teaching materials, and its logotype is an apple tree. Overview The publishing house was founded in 1922 by Johan Hansson and his wife, Jenny Bergqvist Hansson, focusing on educational and didactic literature. During the Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ..., it published anti-Nazi literature. It was transformed into a foundation in 1947. In the 1980s and 1990s, Natur & Kultur bought several other publishing houses, such as Askild & Kärnekull Förlag AB (later renamed Legenda) and LTs Förlag. In addition to textbooks for different levels of education, Natur & Kultur also publishes literary classics and mainstream literatu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
