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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 region's westernmost and most list of countries and dependencies by population density, sparsely populated country. Its Capital city, capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which is home to about 36% of the country's roughly 380,000 residents (excluding nearby towns/suburbs, which are separate municipalities). The official language of the country is Icelandic language, Icelandic. Iceland is on a rift between Plate tectonics, tectonic plates, and its geologic activity includes geysers and frequent Types of volcanic eruptions, volcanic eruptions. The interior consists of a volcanic plateau with sand and lava fields, mountains and glaciers, and many Glacial stream, glacial rivers flow to the sea through the Upland and lowland, lowlands. Iceland i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
History Of Iceland
The recorded history of Iceland began with the settlement by Vikings, Viking explorers and the people they enslaved from Western Europe, particularly in modern-day Norway and the British Isles, in the late ninth century. Iceland was still uninhabited long after the rest of Western Europe had been settled. Recorded settlement has conventionally been dated back to 874, although archaeological evidence indicates Gaelic monks from Ireland, known as papar from Sagas of Icelanders, sagas, may have settled Iceland earlier. The land was settled quickly, mainly by Norsemen who may have been fleeing conflict or seeking new land to farm. By 930, the chieftains had established a form of governance, the ''Althing'', making it one of the world's oldest parliaments. Towards the end of the tenth century, Christianity came to Iceland through the influence of the Norwegian king Olaf Tryggvason. During this time, Iceland remained independent, a period known as the Old Commonwealth, and Icelandic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prime Minister Of Iceland
The prime minister of Iceland () is head of government of the Republic of Iceland. The prime minister is appointed formally by the president of Iceland, president and exercises executive authority along with the Cabinet of Iceland, cabinet subject to parliamentary support. Constitutional basis The prime minister is appointed by the President of Iceland, president under the Constitution of Iceland, Section II Article 17, and chairs the Cabinet of Iceland: : ' : The [cabinet] meetings shall be presided over by the Minister called upon by the President of the Republic to do so, who is designated Prime Minister. Locations The prime minister's office is located in the Governing Council (''Stjórnarráðið''), Reykjavik, where their secretariat is based and where cabinet meetings are held. The prime minister has a summer residence, Þingvallabær in Þingvellir. The prime minister also has a reception house in Tjarnargata, Reykjavik, which was the prime ministerial residence until 1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Althing
The (; ), anglicised as Althingi or Althing, is the Parliamentary sovereignty, supreme Parliament, national parliament of Iceland. It is the oldest surviving parliament in the world. The Althing was founded in 930 at ('Thing (assembly), thing fields' or 'assembly fields'), about east of what later became the country's capital, Reykjavík. After Iceland's union with Norway in 1262, the Althing lost its legislative power, which was not restored until 1904 when Iceland gained home rule from Denmark. For 641 years, the Althing did not serve as the parliament of Iceland; ultimate power rested with the Norwegian, and subsequently the Danish throne. Even after Iceland's union with Norway in 1262, the Althing still held its sessions at until 1800, when it was discontinued. It was restored in 1844 by royal decree and moved to Reykjavík. The restored Unicameralism, unicameral legislature first came together in 1845 and after 1874 operated in Bicameralism, two chambers with an addition ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Icelanders
Icelanders () are an ethnic group and nation who are native to the island country of Iceland. They speak Icelandic, a North Germanic language. Icelanders established the country of Iceland in mid 930 CE when the (parliament) met for the first time. Iceland came under the reign of Norwegian, Swedish and Danish kings but regained full sovereignty from the Danish monarchy on 1 December 1918, when the Kingdom of Iceland was established. On 17 June 1944, Iceland became a republic. Lutheranism is the predominant religion. Historical and DNA records indicate that around 60 to 80 percent of the male settlers were of Norse origin (primarily from Western Norway) and a similar percentage of the women were of Gaelic stock from Ireland and peripheral Scotland. History Iceland is a geologically young land mass, having formed an estimated 20 million years ago due to volcanic eruptions on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. One of the last larger islands to remain uninhabited, the first hu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Icelandic Language
Icelandic ( ; , ) is a North Germanic languages, North Germanic language from the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family spoken by about 314,000 people, the vast majority of whom live in Iceland, where it is the national language. Since it is a West Scandinavian languages, West Scandinavian language, it is most closely related to Faroese language, Faroese, western Norwegian dialects, and the extinct language Norn language, Norn. It is not mutually intelligible with the continental Scandinavian languages (Danish language, Danish, Norwegian language, Norwegian, and Swedish language, Swedish) and is more distinct from the most widely spoken Germanic languages, English language, English and German language, German. The written forms of Icelandic and Faroese are very similar, but their spoken forms are not Mutual intelligibility, mutually intelligible. The language is more Linguistic conservatism, conservative than most other Germanic languages. While most of them hav ... [...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] |
Icelandic Commonwealth
The Icelandic Commonwealth, also known as the Icelandic Free State, was the political unit existing in Iceland between the establishment of the Althing () in 930 and the pledge of fealty to the Norwegian king with the Old Covenant in 1262. With the probable exception of hermitic Irish monks known as Papar, Iceland was an uninhabited island until around 874. The Icelandic Commonwealth had a unique political system whereby chieftains (''goðar'') established a common legal code and settled judicial disputes at the Althing, a national assembly. However, there was no executive body in Iceland that enforced the legal code. The Icelandic Commonwealth has consequently been characterized as a stateless society. During the 13th century, Iceland came under the control of the Kingdom of Norway. Goðorð system The medieval Icelandic state had a unique judicial structure. The first settlers of Iceland were greatly influenced by their Norwegian roots when creating their own form of g ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Church Of Iceland
The Church of Iceland (), officially the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Iceland (), is the State religion, national church of Iceland. The church is Christian and professes the Lutheranism, Lutheran faith. It is a member of the Lutheran World Federation, the Porvoo Communion, the Communion of Protestant Churches in Europe, and the World Council of Churches. The church is organised as a single diocese headed by the Bishop of Iceland. Agnes M. Sigurðardóttir, appointed in 2012, was the first woman to hold this position. She was succeeded by Guðrún Karls Helgudóttir in 2024. The church has two suffragan Episcopal see, sees, Diocese of Skálholt, Skálholt and List of bishops of Hólar, Hólar, whose bishops are suffragans or assistant bishops to the Bishop of Iceland; unusually, each has a cathedral church despite not being in a separate diocese. History Pre-Christian era and the adoption of Christianity Christianity was present from the beginning of human habitation in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
President Of Iceland
The president of Iceland () is the head of state of Iceland. The incumbent is Halla Tómasdóttir, who won the 2024 Icelandic presidential election, 2024 presidential election. The president is not involved in the running of the country, but serves as the head of the state and formally appoints new governments and their ministers. The president is elected by popular vote to a four-year term, and can be reelected any number of times. Historically, while first-term elections have often been hard-fought, an incumbent president who decides to seek another term has usually run unopposed, or they have won re-election with an overwhelming majority of the vote when opposed. The 2012 election was a notable exception to this, where incumbent Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson won with only 52.78% of the vote. Iceland was the first country to have an elected female head of state when Vigdís Finnbogadóttir assumed Iceland's presidency on 1 August 1980. The presidential residence is situated i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Settlement Of Iceland
The settlement of Iceland ( ) is generally believed to have begun in the second half of the ninth century, when Norsemen, Norse settlers migrated across the North Atlantic. The reasons for the migration are uncertain: later in the Middle Ages Icelanders themselves tended to cite civil strife brought about by the ambitions of the Norway, Norwegian king Harald I of Norway, but modern historians focus on deeper factors, such as a shortage of arable land in Scandinavia. Unlike Great Britain and Ireland, Iceland was unsettled land and could be claimed without conflict with existing inhabitants. On the basis of by Ari Þorgilsson, and , histories dating from the twelfth and thirteenth centuries and providing a wealth of detail about the settlement, the years 870 and 874 have traditionally been considered the first years of settlement. However, these sources are largely unreliable in the details they provide about the settlement, and recent research focuses more heavily on archaeological ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ásatrúarfélagið
(, ''Ásatrú Fellowship''), also known simply as , is an Icelandic religious organisation of Heathenry (new religious movement), heathenry (in Iceland also called , " faith"). It was founded on the first day of summer (Iceland), first day of summer in 1972, and granted recognition as a registered religious organization in 1973, allowing it to conduct legally binding ceremonies and collect a share of the church tax#Iceland, church tax. The is the chief religious official. The organization was led by farmer and poet Sveinbjörn Beinteinsson from 1972 until his death in 1993. During most of this period membership did not exceed 100 people and after the initial enthusiasm faded, there was little activity. The time of the next high priest, Jörmundur Ingi Hansen (1994–2002), saw considerable growth and activity, including the design of an burial ground. These trends have continued under the present high priest, musician Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson (2003–present), and as of 1 Januar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lofsöngur
"", also known by its incipit "", is the national anthem of Iceland. Sveinbjörn Sveinbjörnsson composed the music, while the lyrics were authored by Matthías Jochumsson. It was adopted as the national anthem in 1944, when the country declared independence by Icelandic constitutional referendum, 1944, voting to end its Kingdom of Iceland, "personal union" and become a republic. History The late 19th century saw music in Iceland develop and flourish. Though many of their initial composers had to study and apply their trade abroad due to insufficient opportunities on offer at home, they were able to bring what they had learned back to Iceland. One of these musicians was Sveinbjörn Sveinbjörnsson, who was the first person from his homeland to pursue "an international career as a composer". He sojourned in Edinburgh during the early 1870s, and wrote the music for Lofsöngur inside a Townhouse (Great Britain), town house located in the New Town, Edinburgh, city's New Town in 18 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
