History and Facts

Ingólfur Arnarson is generally thought to have been the first settler in Iceland, according to the Book of Settlements (Landnámabók). Ingolfur came to the shores of Iceland in AD 874 and built a home in Reykjavik.

Over the course of the next 50 years, Nordic and Celtic origin settled in Iceland and the population grew steadily. In 930, the Icelandic parliament “Alþingi” was established – the parliament that is now considered the oldest in the world.

During the period of 1262 to 1814, Iceland was a part of the Norwegian and Danish monarchies. In 1814, following the Napoleonic Wars, Denmark-Norway was broken up into two separate kingdoms via the Treaty of Kiel. Iceland remained a Danish dependency for over a century, until 1st of December 1918, when “The Act of Union”, an agreement with Denmark, was signed.

The agreement recognised Iceland as a fully sovereign state under the Danish king. 25 years later, after the The Act of Union agreement had expired, the Icelandic nation voted for an independent constitution. In 17th June, 1944, Iceland was formally established as an independent republic.

Since gaining independence, Iceland have enjoyed substantial economic growth, driven at first by industrialisation of the fishing industry but later with the emerge of new industries uch as energy, alumni production, tourism and – until 2008 - banking. Iceland was hit particularly hard by the global financial crisis and the nation is currently dealing with the largest recession in its history.

Quick facts about Iceland:

  • Iceland has a total of five glaciers, three of which are Europe’s largest.

  • In Icelandic Christmas folklore there are 13 Santa Clauses!

  • Iceland has over 50 golf courses throughout the island, many with outstanding views.

  • Iceland is known as the Land of the Midnight Sun because there are almost 24 hours of daylight during June, July and August.

  • Leif Eriksson (Leif the Lucky), an Icelandic Viking, was the first European to set foot on the American continent around the year 1000 AD, 500 years before Columbus. Sorry, Chris.

  • Iceland is the closest European country to the US and Canada with less than five hours flying time from the East Coast.

  • Icelandic is the oldest living language in Europe. Modern Icelanders are still able to read the 1000-year-old sagas written by the Vikings, which are on display at the Culture House in Reykjavik.

  • Icelandic people have among the longest life expectancies in the world.

  • Mount Hekla in Iceland is one of the most active volcanoes in the world and was long believed by many to be the entrance to Hell – hence the phrases "Go to Heck" and "What the Heck?"

  • Iceland is home to the youngest place on Earth, Surtsey in the Westman Islands. Surtsey Island burst from the North Atlantic in a dramatic ocean floor eruption in 1963. In 2008 it was named a Unesco world heritage site.

  • Iceland has one of the highest literacy rates in the world, 100%. In fact, more books are published per capita here than in any other country.

  • The Althing is the oldest existing parliament in the world. The Vikings established it in the year 930 where they founded a constitution based on individual freedom and land ownership.

  • President Vigdis Finnbogadottir, elected in 1980, was the first woman in the world to become a democratically elected head of state. The current prime minister, miss Johanna Sigurdardottir, is the first ever official gay prime minister.

  • Geysir is Iceland’s largest geyser and where the word geyser originates.

  • Iceland is home to Europe’s most powerful waterfalls, Gullfoss and Dettifoss

  • Eco-friendly Iceland opened the world’s first public hydrogen filling station and has a whale watching ship powered by hydrogen which is the first of its kind as well.

  • Reykjavik is home to the world’s northernmost opera house. The elegant old cinema house in the heart of Reykjavik seats 473.

  • Icelanders drink more Coca Cola than anyone else in the world. It is also said to be the best tasting Coca Cola because they use crystal pure Icelandic water and do not use corn syrup.


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