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Dalabyggð
Dalabyggð () is a municipality located in Dalasýsla, western Iceland. Its main settlement is Búðardalur. Dalabyggð is an agricultural area in the municipality which encompasses, the farm of Hvammur í Dölum where the poet, historian, and politician Snorri Sturluson was born. The main industry in the area is agriculture and sheep farming. There is also a thermal bath, Guðrúnarlaug, in the municipality named after Guðrún Ósvífrsdóttir from the Laxdæla saga. The area is renowned for stories and people from Dalabyggð, such as: Auður djúpúðga, Leifur Eiríksson, Steinn Steinarr, Árni Magnússon, Eiríkur rauði, Sturla Þórðarson, and Ásmundur Sveinsson. There are many places in Dalabyggð with a great story, for example: Eiríksstaðir, Guðrúnarlaug Guðrúnarlaug () is a thermal bath in Iceland near Sælingsdalur in the municipality of Dalabyggð. The name stems from Guðrún Ósvífrsdóttir, who is a main character in '' Laxdæla saga''. T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Municipalities Of Iceland
The municipalities of Iceland ( ; Grammatical number#Overview, sing. ) are local administrative areas in Iceland that provide a number of services to their inhabitants such as kindergartens, elementary schools, waste management, social services, public housing, public transportation, services to senior citizens and disability, disabled people. They also govern zoning and can voluntarily take on additional functions if they have the budget for it. The autonomy of municipalities over their own matters is guaranteed by the Constitution of Iceland, Icelandic constitution. History The origin of the municipalities can be traced back to the Commonwealth of Iceland, commonwealth period in the 10th century when rural communities were organized into Hreppur, communes (''hreppar'' ) with the main purpose of providing help for the poorest individuals in society. When urbanization began in Iceland during the 18th and 19th centuries, several independent townships (''kaupstaðir'' ) were ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Búðardalur
Búðardalur () is a village situated on the Hvammsfjörður in the north-west of Iceland. The village also lies at the north-eastern end of the Snæfellsnes peninsula and is part of the municipality of Dalabyggð. Búðardalur had about 270 inhabitants in 2014 and is a service center for the area, including the regional tourist information centre.Frank Jacobs"The Map as Address: Cryptic Letter Reaches Icelandic Destination" ''The Big Think'', 4 September 2016.Andrew Evans, ''Iceland'', 2nd ed. Chalfont St Peter, Buckinghamshire, England: Bradt Travel Guides, 2011, p. 276 In the traditional system of counties of Iceland that existed until the late 1980s, it was part of Dalasýsla, a name that is still used for the region. Overview Búðardalur contains a supermarket and a petrol station, hair salons, a pub/restaurant, a coffee shop, a health-care centre, an off-licence, a garage and a craft shop; the information centre is in the same building as a cafe and a museum on the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Haukadalur (Dalabyggð)
Haukadalur is a valley in Dalabyggð municipality, found in the Western Region of Iceland. The valley is known as the likely birthplace of Leif Erikson, whose father, Erik the Red, had established the farmstead Eiríksstaðir Eiríksstaðir () is the former homestead of Eiríkr Þorvaldsson, known as Erik the Red, at Haukadalur (Dalabyggð), Haukadalur Valley in the Dalasýsla region of Iceland. It was likely the birthplace of his son Leif Erikson, Leif Eiríksson, the ... there around 970 AD. Other settlements within the valley include: , Leikskálar, Saursstaðir, and Stóra-Vatnshorn. Notes References External links {{Iceland-geo-stub Valleys of Iceland Western Region (Iceland) ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eiríksstaðir
Eiríksstaðir () is the former homestead of Eiríkr Þorvaldsson, known as Erik the Red, at Haukadalur (Dalabyggð), Haukadalur Valley in the Dalasýsla region of Iceland. It was likely the birthplace of his son Leif Erikson, Leif Eiríksson, the first known European discoverer of the Americas. A site thought to be that of the original farm has been investigated by archaeologists and remains of two buildings dating to the 9th–10th centuries have been identified. An open-air museum has been established nearby. Historical record According to ''Landnámabók'' and the ''Saga of Erik the Red'', after first settling in Westfjords, Vestfirðir, Eiríkr married Þjóðhildur Jǫrundardóttir and established the farm of Eiríksstaðir near Vatnshorn in Haukadalur. His son Leifr was likely born there, but Eiríkr had to leave the area after killing two men in revenge for the deaths of two of his thralls. Archaeological investigations A number of archaeological investigations have been ca ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Northwest Constituency
Northwest () is one of the six multi-member constituencies of the Althing, the national legislature of Iceland. The constituency was established in 2003 following the re-organisation of constituencies across Iceland when the Northwestern constituency (excluding Siglufjörður municipality which was merged into the Northeast constituency) was merged with the Western and Westfjords constituencies. Northwest consists of the regions of Northwestern, Western and Westfjords. The constituency currently elects six of the 63 members of the Althing using the open party-list proportional representation electoral system. At the 2024 parliamentary election it had 22,351 registered electors. History In September 1997 Prime Minister Davíð Oddsson appointed a committee headed by Friðrik Klemenz Sophusson to review the division of constituencies in Iceland and the organisation of elections. The committee's report was published in October 1998 and recommended, amongst other things, that t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Erik The Red
Erik Thorvaldsson (), known as Erik the Red, was a Norse explorer, described in medieval and Icelandic saga sources as having founded the first European settlement in Greenland. Erik most likely earned the epithet "the Red" due to the color of his hair and beard. According to Icelandic sagas, Erik was born in the Jæren district of Rogaland, Norway, as the son of Thorvald Asvaldsson; to which Thorvald would later be banished from Norway, and would sail west to Iceland with Erik and his family. During Erik's life in Iceland, he married Þjódhild Jorundsdottir and would have four children, with one of Erik's sons being the well-known Icelandic explorer Leif Erikson. Around the year of 982, Erik was exiled from Iceland for three years, during which time he explored Greenland, eventually culminating in his founding of the first successful European settlement on the island. Erik would later die there around 1003 CE during a winter epidemic. Personal life Early life Erik Th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dalasýsla
Dalasýsla (, ) was one of the pre-1988 traditional counties of Iceland, located in the Western Region of the country. Its only town is Búðardalur. The county had a rich history dating back to the first settlers of Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi .... Leif Erikson grew up in Dalasýsla, at Eiríksstaðir, in the 10th century, and Árni Magnússon, scholar and collector of manuscripts, was born at Kvennabrekka in Dalasýsla in 1663. The poet, historian, and politician Snorri Sturluson was born at the farm of . Painter Helgi Fríðjónsson was born in Búðardalur in 1953, as was artist Hreinn Friðfinnsson (1943–2024). References External links Counties of Iceland Western Region (Iceland) {{Iceland-geo-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Leif Erikson
Leif Erikson, also known as Leif the Lucky (), was a Norsemen, Norse explorer who is thought to have been the first European to set foot on continental Americas, America, approximately half a millennium before Christopher Columbus. According to the sagas of Icelanders, he established a Norse colonization of North America, Norse settlement at Vinland, which is usually interpreted as being coastal North America. There is ongoing speculation that the settlement made by Leif and his crew corresponds to the remains of a Norse settlement found in Newfoundland, Canada, called L'Anse aux Meadows, which was occupied approximately 1,000 years ago. Leif's place of birth is unknown, although it is assumed to have been in Iceland.Leif Eriksson – Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 2012. Retrieved 11 April 2012. His fat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Guðrúnarlaug
Guðrúnarlaug () is a thermal bath in Iceland near Sælingsdalur in the municipality of Dalabyggð. The name stems from Guðrún Ósvífrsdóttir, who is a main character in '' Laxdæla saga''. The thermal bath exists at the place described in the saga. Reference in '' Laxdæla saga'' In '' Laxdæla saga'' Guðrúnarlaug (literally "Guðrún's pool" in Icelandic) is called "the Baths of Saelingsdale": Gestur ríður nú um daginn vestan úr Saurbæ og kemur til Sælingsdalslaugar og dvelst þar um hríð. Guðrún kom til laugar og fagnar vel Gesti frænda sínum. Gestur tók henni vel og taka þau tal saman og voru þau bæði vitur og orðig. Now Guest rideth westward all day from Saurby and cometh to the Baths of Saelingsdale, and abides there awhile. Gudrun came to the Baths and greeteth well Guest her kinsman. Guest took her greeting well, and they fall to speech together, for both of them were wise and many-spoken. See also * Culture of Iceland *Sagas of Icelanders ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Laxdæla Saga
''Laxdæla saga'' (), Old Norse ''Laxdœla saga'' (Old Norse pronunciation ) or ''The Saga of the People of Laxárdalur'', is one of the sagas of Icelanders. Written in the 13th century CE, it tells of people in the Breiðafjörður area in western Iceland from the late 9th century CE to the early 11th century CE. The saga particularly focuses on a love triangle between Guðrún Ósvífrsdóttir, Kjartan Ólafsson and Bolli Þorleiksson. Kjartan and Bolli grow up together as close friends but the love they both have for Guðrún causes enmity between them. Second only to ''Njáls saga'' in the number of medieval manuscripts preserved, ''Laxdæla saga'' remains popular and appreciated for its poetic beauty and pathos. Authorship and sources As is the case with the other Icelanders' sagas, the author of ''Laxdæla saga'' is unknown. Since the saga has often been regarded as an unusually feminine saga, it has been speculated that it was composed by a woman. The author's extensive k ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ásmundur Sveinsson
Ásmundur Sveinsson (20 May 1893 – 9 December 1982) was an Icelandic sculptor, whose works include “ Thor's gavel”, the ornate gavel used by the President of United Nations General Assembly. Early years Ásmundur Sveinsson was born in Kolsstadir in West Iceland on 20 May 1893. In 1915 he moved to Reykjavík where he enrolled in the Technical College of Iceland and apprenticed with sculptor Ríkarður Jónsson for four years. In 1919 he relocated to Copenhagen, Denmark, and from there to Stockholm, Sweden, where he enrolled in the Academy of Fine Arts where he remained for six years, much of it spent studying with sculptor Carl Milles. In 1924 he married sculptor Gunnfríður Jónsdóttir. He and Gunnfríður divorced several years later. After graduating from the Academy, Ásmundur moved to Paris, France where he continued his study, here under the sculptor Charles Despiau. Work Ásmundur returned to Iceland in 1929 and began producing a series of abstracted figurativ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sturla Þórðarson
Sturla Þórðarson ( ; ; 29 July 1214–30 July 1284) was an Icelandic chieftain and writer of sagas and contemporary history during the 13th century. Much academic debate is dedicated to evaluating his life, bias as an historian of medieval Iceland and Norway. Biography The life of Sturla Þórðarson was chronicled in the Sturlunga saga. Sturla was the son of Icelandic chieftain Þórður Sturluson and his mistress Þóra, and grandson of Sturla Þórðarson the elder. He was raised by his grandmother, Guðný Böðvarsdóttir. He was a nephew and pupil of the famous saga-writer Snorri Sturluson. His brother was Icelandic skald and scholar Ólafur Þórðarson hvítaskáld. He fought alongside Þórður kakali Sighvatsson during the Age of the Sturlungs. Sturla was appointed law speaker over all of Iceland for a brief period after the dissolution of the Icelandic Commonwealth, and wrote the law book '' Járnsíða.'' Like his uncle, Snorri, and his brother, Óláfr, S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
