Culture of Iceland
Encyclopedia
The culture of Iceland
is rich and varied as well as being known for its literary heritage which stems from author
s from the 12th to 14th centuries. Other Icelandic traditional arts include weaving
, silversmithing, and wood carving
. The Reykjavík
area has several professional theatre
s, a symphony orchestra, an opera
, and a large amount of art galleries, bookstores, cinemas, and museum
s. There are also four active folk dance ensembles in Iceland. Iceland's literacy rate is among the highest in the world, and a love of literature, art, chess, and other intellectual pursuits is widespread.
Nordic
outlook, similar to other Nordic countries such as Norway
and Sweden
. Yet, an important key to understanding Icelanders and their culture (and which differentiates them from the majority of their contemporary Nordic
peoples) is the high importance they place on the traits of independence
and self-sufficiency
.
In the June 2005 European Commission Eurobarometer public opinion analysis, over 85% of Icelanders found independence to be "very important" contrasted with the EU25 average of 53%, and 47% for the Norwegians
, and 49% for the Danes
.
Icelanders are proud of their Viking heritage and Icelandic language
and take great care to preserve their traditions and language. Modern Icelandic remains close to the Old Norse
spoken in the Viking Age
. For example, the word for computer
(an introduced object) is tölva which combines the ancient terms for number and seer.
Until the Christianisation of Iceland, many traditional Viking beliefs were strongly held, remnants of which remain today. According to a 2005 New York Times article, the majority of Icelanders either believe in elves or are unwilling to rule out their existence. There are a number of accounts of roads that have been re-routed and building plans redesigned or abandoned to avoid disturbing rocks where elves are said to live.
Icelandic society and culture has a high degree of gender equality
, with many women in leadership positions in government and business. Iceland also has a highly progressive gay
rights legislation, with couples having been able to register civil unions since 1996, adopt since 2006 and marry since 2010. Women retain their names after marriage, since Icelanders generally do not use surname
s but patronyms or (in certain cases) matronyms. See Icelandic name
for further discussion.
Iceland also has the most extensive and progressive child protection law. The new Children's Act, passed in March 2003, and effective as of November 1, 2003, not only places Iceland on the list of twenty-five nations that have outlawed spanking
, the act also outlaws verbal and emotional abuse and makes child protection a priority. Physical or mental violence is punishable by imprisonment and/or fine, and there is no legal defense.
In 2006, Iceland was ranked as the fourth happiest
nation
in the world by an independent scientific study.
Local and national festivals include the annual National Day
, celebrating the country's independence in 1944, Sumardagurinn fyrsti which celebrates the first day of summer
, and Sjómannadagurinn which is held every June to pay tribute to the country's seafaring past.
religion that believed in Norse mythology
. Later the nation became half-Christian
and then more fully Christian. This increasing Christianisation culminated in the Pietism
period when non-Christian entertainments were discouraged. At present the population is overwhelmingly, if nominally, Lutheran. However there are also Catholic
s, Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormon
s, Muslim
s and others. There are also folk beliefs concerning elves
that do not rise to the level of religion, but have gained some note.
(food of the þorri) is the Icelandic national food. Nowadays þorramatur is mostly eaten during the ancient Nordic
month of þorri, in January and February, as a tribute to old culture. Þorramatur consists of many different types of food. These are mostly offal
dishes like pickled ram's testicles, putrefied shark
, singed sheep heads, singed sheep head jam, blood pudding, liver sausage (similar to Scottish
haggis
) and dried fish (often cod
or haddock
) with or without butter.
Much of the cuisine
centres around Iceland's fishing industry
. Traditional dishes include Hákarl
(putrefied shark
), graflax
(salmon
marinated in salt
and dill
), hangikjöt (smoked lamb), hrútspungar (pickled ram's testicles), and slátur (sausages made from sheep entrails). A popular food is skyr
made of cultured skim milk, in the summer time it may be served with bilberries
as a dessert. Brennivin is an Icelandic liquor made from potatoes and caraway
.
(Latibær), created by Magnús Scheving
. It has become a huge phenomenon with children and adults and is shown in over 98 countries, including the US, Canada, Sweden and Latin America. The LazyTown Studios are located in Garðabær
.
Iceland is also the home of the reasonably successful 80s and 90s band The Sugarcubes
from which very successful singer Björk
hailed from.
Also another popular musical group from Iceland is Sigur Rós
.
Internet
connections per capita among OECD countries
.
forms, and includes vibrant folk
and pop
traditions, including medieval music group Voces Thules
. The only folk band whose recordings are available abroad is Islandica.
The national anthem
of Iceland is "Lofsöngur
", written by Matthías Jochumsson
, with music by Sveinbjörn Sveinbjörnsson
. The song was written in 1874, when Iceland celebrated the one thousandth anniversary of settlement on the island. It was in the form of a hymn
, first published under the title A Hymn in Commemoration of Iceland's Thousand Years.
Though changing in the past years, Icelanders remain a very healthy nation. Children and teenagers participate in various types of leisure activities. Popular sports today are mainly soccer, athletics, handball
and basketball
. Sports such as golf
, tennis
, swimming
, chess
and horseback riding on Icelandic horse
s are also popular.
Chess
is a popular type of recreation favored by the Icelanders’ Viking
ancestors. The country's chess clubs have created many chess grandmasters including Friðrik Ólafsson
, Jóhann Hjartarson
, Margeir Pétursson, and Jón Loftur Árnason. Glíma
is a form of wrestling that is still played in Iceland, thought to have originated with the Vikings. Swimming and horseback riding are popular as well as leisure activities without competition. Golf
is especially common; around 1 in 8 Icelanders play the sport. Team handball
is often referred to as a national sport, Iceland's team
is one of the top ranked teams in the world, and Icelandic women are surprisingly good at football
compared to the size of the country, the national team ranked the eighteenth best by FIFA
.
Ice and rock climbing are a favorite among many Icelanders, for example to climb the top of the 4,167-foot (1,270 metre) Þumall peak in Skaftafell National Park
is a challenge for many adventurous climbers, but mountain climbing is considered to be more suitable for the general public and is a very common type of leisure activity. Hvítá
, among many other of the Icelandic glacial rivers, attracts kayakers and river rafterers worldwide.
, a highly inflected
North Germanic language. Danish
and English
are also taught in schools. Linguistic purism
is strongly supported in Iceland in an attempt to prevent loanword
s from entering the language. Instead, neologisms are coined from Icelandic roots, creating compound words to describe new concepts. It is often the case that old words which are no longer used are recycled with a new meaning. It should be noted, however, that some loanwords persist in Icelandic, and many more, the majority anglicism
s, are used in everyday speech.
, and there are four levels: pre-school, compulsory, upper secondary and higher. Education is mandatory for children aged six to sixteen. Most institutions are funded by the state, there are very few private school
s in the country. The Ministry of Education, Science and Culture has the jurisdiction of educational responsibility. Over the years, the educational system has been decentralised
and responsibility for primary
and lower secondary
schools lies with the local authorities. The state runs upper secondary schools
and higher education
institutions.
The people of Iceland are famous for their prose
and poetry
; in particular the saga
s and edda
s.
Iceland has produced many great authors including Halldór Laxness
, Guðmundur Kamban
, Tómas Guðmundsson
, Davíð Stefánsson
, Jón Thoroddsen
, Steinn Steinarr, Guðmundur G. Hagalín
, Þórbergur Þórðarson
and Jóhannes úr Kötlum
.
Iceland's best-known classical works of literature are the Icelanders' sagas
, prose epics set in Iceland's age of settlement. The most famous of these include Njáls saga, about an epic blood feud, and Grænlendinga saga
and Eiríks saga
, describing the discovery and settlement of Greenland
and Vinland
(modern Newfoundland
). Egils saga
, Laxdæla saga, Grettis saga
, Gísla saga
and Gunnlaugs saga ormstungu are also notable and popular Icelanders' sagas
.
W. H. Auden
and Louis MacNeice
wrote Letters From Iceland (1937) to describe their travels through that country.
s appeared in Iceland in the 19th century. This group of artists included Jóhannes Sveinsson Kjarval
who was famous for his paintings portraying village life in Iceland. Ásmundur Sveinsson
, a 20th century sculptor, was also from Iceland. Silver working and its old traditions have been preserved.
Einar Hákonarson
is an expressionistic and figurative
painter who brought the figure back into Icelandic painting in 1968. He is a pioneer in the Icelandic art scene and art education. He has been called “The crusader of the painting”, due to his involvement in those conflicts many Icelandic painters had with the public fine art centers. He was a driving force in founding The Icelandic Printmaking Association and its first president.
Icelandic architecture draws from Scandinavia
n influences and, traditionally, was influenced by the lack of native trees on the island. As a result, grass
- and turf
-covered houses were developed. The original grasshouses
constructed by the original settlers of Iceland were based on Viking
longhouses.
follows the coast, making it theoretically possible to traverse the entire island. Sea
and air transport are both popular to connect larger population centers.
s and pools that can be found all around the country, such as Bláa Lónið
(The Blue Lagoon) on the Reykjanes Peninsula
near the Keflavík International Airport
.
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
is rich and varied as well as being known for its literary heritage which stems from author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
s from the 12th to 14th centuries. Other Icelandic traditional arts include weaving
Weaving
Weaving is a method of fabric production in which two distinct sets of yarns or threads are interlaced at right angles to form a fabric or cloth. The other methods are knitting, lace making and felting. The longitudinal threads are called the warp and the lateral threads are the weft or filling...
, silversmithing, and wood carving
Wood carving
Wood carving is a form of working wood by means of a cutting tool in one hand or a chisel by two hands or with one hand on a chisel and one hand on a mallet, resulting in a wooden figure or figurine, or in the sculptural ornamentation of a wooden object...
. The Reykjavík
Reykjavík
Reykjavík is the capital and largest city in Iceland.Its latitude at 64°08' N makes it the world's northernmost capital of a sovereign state. It is located in southwestern Iceland, on the southern shore of Faxaflói Bay...
area has several professional theatre
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
s, a symphony orchestra, an opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
, and a large amount of art galleries, bookstores, cinemas, and museum
Museum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
s. There are also four active folk dance ensembles in Iceland. Iceland's literacy rate is among the highest in the world, and a love of literature, art, chess, and other intellectual pursuits is widespread.
Attitudes and customs
Icelanders generally have a traditional liberalLiberalism
Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...
Nordic
Nordic countries
The Nordic countries make up a region in Northern Europe and the North Atlantic which consists of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden and their associated territories, the Faroe Islands, Greenland and Åland...
outlook, similar to other Nordic countries such as Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
and Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
. Yet, an important key to understanding Icelanders and their culture (and which differentiates them from the majority of their contemporary Nordic
Nordic countries
The Nordic countries make up a region in Northern Europe and the North Atlantic which consists of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden and their associated territories, the Faroe Islands, Greenland and Åland...
peoples) is the high importance they place on the traits of independence
Independence
Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state in which its residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory....
and self-sufficiency
Self-sufficiency
Self-sufficiency refers to the state of not requiring any outside aid, support, or interaction, for survival; it is therefore a type of personal or collective autonomy...
.
In the June 2005 European Commission Eurobarometer public opinion analysis, over 85% of Icelanders found independence to be "very important" contrasted with the EU25 average of 53%, and 47% for the Norwegians
Norwegians
Norwegians constitute both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway. They share a common culture and speak the Norwegian language. Norwegian people and their descendants are found in migrant communities worldwide, notably in United States, Canada and Brazil.-History:Towards the end of the 3rd...
, and 49% for the Danes
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
.
Icelanders are proud of their Viking heritage and Icelandic language
Icelandic language
Icelandic is a North Germanic language, the main language of Iceland. Its closest relative is Faroese.Icelandic is an Indo-European language belonging to the North Germanic or Nordic branch of the Germanic languages. Historically, it was the westernmost of the Indo-European languages prior to the...
and take great care to preserve their traditions and language. Modern Icelandic remains close to the Old Norse
Old Norse
Old Norse is a North Germanic language that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during the Viking Age, until about 1300....
spoken in the Viking Age
Viking Age
Viking Age is the term for the period in European history, especially Northern European and Scandinavian history, spanning the late 8th to 11th centuries. Scandinavian Vikings explored Europe by its oceans and rivers through trade and warfare. The Vikings also reached Iceland, Greenland,...
. For example, the word for computer
Computer
A computer is a programmable machine designed to sequentially and automatically carry out a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations. The particular sequence of operations can be changed readily, allowing the computer to solve more than one kind of problem...
(an introduced object) is tölva which combines the ancient terms for number and seer.
Until the Christianisation of Iceland, many traditional Viking beliefs were strongly held, remnants of which remain today. According to a 2005 New York Times article, the majority of Icelanders either believe in elves or are unwilling to rule out their existence. There are a number of accounts of roads that have been re-routed and building plans redesigned or abandoned to avoid disturbing rocks where elves are said to live.
Icelandic society and culture has a high degree of gender equality
Gender equality
Gender equality is the goal of the equality of the genders, stemming from a belief in the injustice of myriad forms of gender inequality.- Concept :...
, with many women in leadership positions in government and business. Iceland also has a highly progressive gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
rights legislation, with couples having been able to register civil unions since 1996, adopt since 2006 and marry since 2010. Women retain their names after marriage, since Icelanders generally do not use surname
Surname
A surname is a name added to a given name and is part of a personal name. In many cases, a surname is a family name. Many dictionaries define "surname" as a synonym of "family name"...
s but patronyms or (in certain cases) matronyms. See Icelandic name
Icelandic name
Icelandic names differ from most current Western family name systems by being patronymic in that they reflect the immediate father of the child and not the historic family lineage....
for further discussion.
Iceland also has the most extensive and progressive child protection law. The new Children's Act, passed in March 2003, and effective as of November 1, 2003, not only places Iceland on the list of twenty-five nations that have outlawed spanking
Spanking
Spanking refers to the act of striking the buttocks of another person to cause temporary pain without producing physical injury. It generally involves one person striking the buttocks of another person with an open hand. When an open hand is used, spanking is referred to in some countries as...
, the act also outlaws verbal and emotional abuse and makes child protection a priority. Physical or mental violence is punishable by imprisonment and/or fine, and there is no legal defense.
In 2006, Iceland was ranked as the fourth happiest
Happiness
Happiness is a mental state of well-being characterized by positive emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy. A variety of biological, psychological, religious, and philosophical approaches have striven to define happiness and identify its sources....
nation
Nation
A nation may refer to a community of people who share a common language, culture, ethnicity, descent, and/or history. In this definition, a nation has no physical borders. However, it can also refer to people who share a common territory and government irrespective of their ethnic make-up...
in the world by an independent scientific study.
Local and national festivals include the annual National Day
Icelandic National Day
Icelandic National Day , 17 June, is a holiday in Iceland and celebrates the day in 1944 that The Republic of Iceland was formed....
, celebrating the country's independence in 1944, Sumardagurinn fyrsti which celebrates the first day of summer
Summer
Summer is the warmest of the four temperate seasons, between spring and autumn. At the summer solstice, the days are longest and the nights are shortest, with day-length decreasing as the season progresses after the solstice...
, and Sjómannadagurinn which is held every June to pay tribute to the country's seafaring past.
Religion
Religion in Iceland was initially the VikingViking
The term Viking is customarily used to refer to the Norse explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates who raided, traded, explored and settled in wide areas of Europe, Asia and the North Atlantic islands from the late 8th to the mid-11th century.These Norsemen used their famed longships to...
religion that believed in Norse mythology
Norse mythology
Norse mythology, a subset of Germanic mythology, is the overall term for the myths, legends and beliefs about supernatural beings of Norse pagans. It flourished prior to the Christianization of Scandinavia, during the Early Middle Ages, and passed into Nordic folklore, with some aspects surviving...
. Later the nation became half-Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
and then more fully Christian. This increasing Christianisation culminated in the Pietism
Pietism
Pietism was a movement within Lutheranism, lasting from the late 17th century to the mid-18th century and later. It proved to be very influential throughout Protestantism and Anabaptism, inspiring not only Anglican priest John Wesley to begin the Methodist movement, but also Alexander Mack to...
period when non-Christian entertainments were discouraged. At present the population is overwhelmingly, if nominally, Lutheran. However there are also Catholic
Catholicism
Catholicism is a broad term for the body of the Catholic faith, its theologies and doctrines, its liturgical, ethical, spiritual, and behavioral characteristics, as well as a religious people as a whole....
s, Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormon
Mormon
The term Mormon most commonly denotes an adherent, practitioner, follower, or constituent of Mormonism, which is the largest branch of the Latter Day Saint movement in restorationist Christianity...
s, Muslim
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
s and others. There are also folk beliefs concerning elves
Huldufólk
Huldufólk are elves in Icelandic folklore. Building projects in Iceland are sometimes altered to prevent damaging the rocks where they are believed to live. According to these Icelandic folk beliefs, one should never throw stones because of the possibility of hitting the huldufólk...
that do not rise to the level of religion, but have gained some note.
Cuisine
Iceland offers wide varieties of traditional cuisine. ÞorramaturÞorramatur
Þorramatur is a selection of traditional Icelandic food, consisting mainly of meat and fish products cured in a traditional manner, cut into slices or bits and served with rúgbrauð , butter and brennivín...
(food of the þorri) is the Icelandic national food. Nowadays þorramatur is mostly eaten during the ancient Nordic
Nordic countries
The Nordic countries make up a region in Northern Europe and the North Atlantic which consists of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden and their associated territories, the Faroe Islands, Greenland and Åland...
month of þorri, in January and February, as a tribute to old culture. Þorramatur consists of many different types of food. These are mostly offal
Offal
Offal , also called, especially in the United States, variety meats or organ meats, refers to the internal organs and entrails of a butchered animal. The word does not refer to a particular list of edible organs, which varies by culture and region, but includes most internal organs other than...
dishes like pickled ram's testicles, putrefied shark
Hákarl
Hákarl or kæstur hákarl is a food from Iceland. It is a Greenland or basking shark which has been cured with a particular fermentation process and hung to dry for four to five months...
, singed sheep heads, singed sheep head jam, blood pudding, liver sausage (similar to Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
haggis
Haggis
Haggis is a dish containing sheep's 'pluck' , minced with onion, oatmeal, suet, spices, and salt, mixed with stock, and traditionally simmered in the animal's stomach for approximately three hours. Most modern commercial haggis is prepared in a casing rather than an actual stomach.Haggis is a kind...
) and dried fish (often cod
Cod
Cod is the common name for genus Gadus, belonging to the family Gadidae, and is also used in the common name for various other fishes. Cod is a popular food with a mild flavor, low fat content and a dense, flaky white flesh. Cod livers are processed to make cod liver oil, an important source of...
or haddock
Haddock
The haddock , also known as the offshore hake, is a marine fish distributed on both sides of the North Atlantic. Haddock is a popular food fish and is widely fished commercially....
) with or without butter.
Much of the cuisine
Cuisine
Cuisine is a characteristic style of cooking practices and traditions, often associated with a specific culture. Cuisines are often named after the geographic areas or regions that they originate from...
centres around Iceland's fishing industry
Fishing industry
The fishing industry includes any industry or activity concerned with taking, culturing, processing, preserving, storing, transporting, marketing or selling fish or fish products....
. Traditional dishes include Hákarl
Hákarl
Hákarl or kæstur hákarl is a food from Iceland. It is a Greenland or basking shark which has been cured with a particular fermentation process and hung to dry for four to five months...
(putrefied shark
Shark
Sharks are a type of fish with a full cartilaginous skeleton and a highly streamlined body. The earliest known sharks date from more than 420 million years ago....
), graflax
Gravlax
Gravlax or gravad lax , gravet laks , gravlaks , graavilohi , graavilõhe , graflax is a Nordic dish consisting of raw salmon, cured in salt, sugar, and dill...
(salmon
Salmon
Salmon is the common name for several species of fish in the family Salmonidae. Several other fish in the same family are called trout; the difference is often said to be that salmon migrate and trout are resident, but this distinction does not strictly hold true...
marinated in salt
Salt
In chemistry, salts are ionic compounds that result from the neutralization reaction of an acid and a base. They are composed of cations and anions so that the product is electrically neutral...
and dill
Dill
Dill is a perennial herb. It is the sole species of the genus Anethum, though classified by some botanists in a related genus as Peucedanum graveolens C.B.Clarke.-Growth:...
), hangikjöt (smoked lamb), hrútspungar (pickled ram's testicles), and slátur (sausages made from sheep entrails). A popular food is skyr
Skyr
Skyr is an Icelandic cultured dairy product, similar to strained yogurt. Technically it is a very soft cheese. It is very popular in Icelandic cuisine. Skyr was originally discovered by accident. A group of farmers in Iceland in the early settlement days poured skim milk over barrels of meat to...
made of cultured skim milk, in the summer time it may be served with bilberries
Bilberry
Bilberry is any of several species of low-growing shrubs in the genus Vaccinium , bearing edible berries. The species most often referred to is Vaccinium myrtillus L., but there are several other closely related species....
as a dessert. Brennivin is an Icelandic liquor made from potatoes and caraway
Caraway
Caraway also known as meridian fennel, or Persian cumin is a biennial plant in the family Apiaceae, native to western Asia, Europe and Northern Africa....
.
Entertainment
Iceland is home to Nick Jr's LazyTownLazyTown
LazyTown is a children's television program that was produced in Iceland with a cast and crew from Iceland, the United Kingdom and the United States. It was created by Magnús Scheving, a gymnastics champion and CEO of LazyTown Entertainment, who also stars in the show...
(Latibær), created by Magnús Scheving
Magnús Scheving
Magnús Örn Eyjólfsson Scheving was born 10 November 1964 to Þórveig Hjartardóttir and Eyjólfur Magnússon Scheving. He is an Icelandic writer, producer, entrepreneur, and a famous athlete. He is the creator and co-star of the children's television show LazyTown.-Career:In 1992 he became the...
. It has become a huge phenomenon with children and adults and is shown in over 98 countries, including the US, Canada, Sweden and Latin America. The LazyTown Studios are located in Garðabær
Garðabær
Garðabær is a municipality in the Greater Reykjavík area of Iceland.As of January 2011, its population was 10,909....
.
Iceland is also the home of the reasonably successful 80s and 90s band The Sugarcubes
The Sugarcubes
The Sugarcubes were an Icelandic alternative rock band formed in 1986 and disbanded in 1992. They received critical and popular acclaim internationally.-History:...
from which very successful singer Björk
Björk
Björk Guðmundsdóttir , known as Björk , is an Icelandic singer-songwriter. Her eclectic musical style has achieved popular acknowledgement and popularity within many musical genres, such as rock, jazz, electronic dance music, classical and folk...
hailed from.
Also another popular musical group from Iceland is Sigur Rós
Sigur Rós
Sigur Rós is an Icelandic post-rock band with classicaland minimalist elements. The band is known for its ethereal sound, and frontman Jónsi Birgisson's falsetto vocals and use of bowed guitar. In January 2010, the band announced that they will be on hiatus. Since then, it has since been announced...
.
Technology
Iceland is one of the world's most technologically advanced and digitally-connected countries. It has the highest number of broadbandBroadband
The term broadband refers to a telecommunications signal or device of greater bandwidth, in some sense, than another standard or usual signal or device . Different criteria for "broad" have been applied in different contexts and at different times...
Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
connections per capita among OECD countries
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development is an international economic organisation of 34 countries founded in 1961 to stimulate economic progress and world trade...
.
Music
Icelandic music is related to Nordic musicNordic music
Nordic folk music includes a number of traditions in Northern European, especially Scandinavian, countries. The Nordic countries are generally taken to include Iceland, Norway, Finland, Sweden and Denmark. The Nordic Council, an international organization, also includes the autonomous territories...
forms, and includes vibrant folk
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
and pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
traditions, including medieval music group Voces Thules
Voces Thules
Voces Thules is an Icelandic music ensemble formed in 1992.The ensemble consists of five male singers who have studied in Reykjavik, London and Vienna, specializing in Icelandic medieval and contemporary music...
. The only folk band whose recordings are available abroad is Islandica.
The national anthem
National anthem
A national anthem is a generally patriotic musical composition that evokes and eulogizes the history, traditions and struggles of its people, recognized either by a nation's government as the official national song, or by convention through use by the people.- History :Anthems rose to prominence...
of Iceland is "Lofsöngur
Lofsöngur
"Lofsöngur" , also known as "Ó Guð vors lands" , is the national anthem of Iceland. The lyrics are by Matthías Jochumsson and the music by Sveinbjörn Sveinbjörnsson. The anthem contains three stanzas, but only the first one is commonly sung. The melody is by many considered difficult to sing, and...
", written by Matthías Jochumsson
Matthías Jochumsson
Matthías Jochumsson was an Icelandic poet, playwright, and translator. He is best known for his lyrical poetry and for writing the national anthem of Iceland, Lofsöngur, in 1874. He was born in Skógar into a poor family and traveled to the continent to further his education...
, with music by Sveinbjörn Sveinbjörnsson
Sveinbjörn Sveinbjörnsson
Sveinbjörn Sveinbjörnsson , was an Icelandic composer best known for composing Lofsöngur, the National Anthem of Iceland....
. The song was written in 1874, when Iceland celebrated the one thousandth anniversary of settlement on the island. It was in the form of a hymn
Hymn
A hymn is a type of song, usually religious, specifically written for the purpose of praise, adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification...
, first published under the title A Hymn in Commemoration of Iceland's Thousand Years.
Leisure
Team handball
Handball is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each pass a ball to throw it into the goal of the other team...
and basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
. Sports such as golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
, tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
, swimming
Swimming (sport)
Swimming is a sport governed by the Fédération Internationale de Natation .-History: Competitive swimming in Europe began around 1800 BCE, mostly in the form of the freestyle. In 1873 Steve Bowyer introduced the trudgen to Western swimming competitions, after copying the front crawl used by Native...
, chess
Chess
Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
and horseback riding on Icelandic horse
Icelandic horse
The Icelandic horse is a breed of horse developed in Iceland. Although the horses are small, at times pony-sized, most registries for the Icelandic refer to it as a horse. Icelandic horses are long-lived and hardy. In their native country they have few diseases; Icelandic law prevents horses from...
s are also popular.
Chess
Chess
Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
is a popular type of recreation favored by the Icelanders’ Viking
Viking
The term Viking is customarily used to refer to the Norse explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates who raided, traded, explored and settled in wide areas of Europe, Asia and the North Atlantic islands from the late 8th to the mid-11th century.These Norsemen used their famed longships to...
ancestors. The country's chess clubs have created many chess grandmasters including Friðrik Ólafsson
Friðrik Ólafsson
Friðrik Ólafsson is an Icelandic chess Grandmaster and former president of FIDE.Friðrik was born in Reykjavík, Iceland. A first-time winner of the Icelandic Championship in 1952 and of the Scandinavian Championship a year later, he rapidly became recognised as the strongest Icelandic player of his...
, Jóhann Hjartarson
Johann Hjartarson
Jóhann Hjartarson is a chess Grandmaster from Iceland. He earned the International Master title in 1984 and the Grandmaster title a year later. Among his best international tournament results are equal fourth at Reykjavik 1988 , equal third at Tilburg 1988 and sixth at Belgrade 1989...
, Margeir Pétursson, and Jón Loftur Árnason. Glíma
Glima
Glíma is the Icelandic national style of folk wrestling.There are four points that differentiate it from other forms of wrestling:*The opponents must always stand erect.*The opponents step clockwise around each other...
is a form of wrestling that is still played in Iceland, thought to have originated with the Vikings. Swimming and horseback riding are popular as well as leisure activities without competition. Golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
is especially common; around 1 in 8 Icelanders play the sport. Team handball
Team handball
Handball is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each pass a ball to throw it into the goal of the other team...
is often referred to as a national sport, Iceland's team
Iceland national handball team
The Iceland national handball team is the national handball team of Iceland and is controlled by the Icelandic Handball Association.- World Championships :- European Championships :- Olympic games :- Current squad :...
is one of the top ranked teams in the world, and Icelandic women are surprisingly good at football
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
compared to the size of the country, the national team ranked the eighteenth best by FIFA
FIFA
The Fédération Internationale de Football Association , commonly known by the acronym FIFA , is the international governing body of :association football, futsal and beach football. Its headquarters are located in Zurich, Switzerland, and its president is Sepp Blatter, who is in his fourth...
.
Ice and rock climbing are a favorite among many Icelanders, for example to climb the top of the 4,167-foot (1,270 metre) Þumall peak in Skaftafell National Park
Skaftafell National Park
Skaftafell National Park was a national park, situated between Kirkjubæjarklaustur, typically referred to as Klaustur, and Höfn in the south of Iceland. On 7 June 2008, it became a part of the larger Vatnajökull National Park....
is a challenge for many adventurous climbers, but mountain climbing is considered to be more suitable for the general public and is a very common type of leisure activity. Hvítá
Hvítá
Hvítá is a river whose source is in the glacier lake Hvítárvatn at Langjökull glacier in the highlands of Iceland at . The river flows for 40 km before dropping down into a narrow gorge at the waterfall Gullfoss....
, among many other of the Icelandic glacial rivers, attracts kayakers and river rafterers worldwide.
Language
The principal language of Iceland is IcelandicIcelandic language
Icelandic is a North Germanic language, the main language of Iceland. Its closest relative is Faroese.Icelandic is an Indo-European language belonging to the North Germanic or Nordic branch of the Germanic languages. Historically, it was the westernmost of the Indo-European languages prior to the...
, a highly inflected
Inflection
In grammar, inflection or inflexion is the modification of a word to express different grammatical categories such as tense, grammatical mood, grammatical voice, aspect, person, number, gender and case...
North Germanic language. Danish
Danish language
Danish is a North Germanic language spoken by around six million people, principally in the country of Denmark. It is also spoken by 50,000 Germans of Danish ethnicity in the northern parts of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, where it holds the status of minority language...
and English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
are also taught in schools. Linguistic purism
Linguistic purism
Linguistic purism or linguistic protectionism is the practice of defining one variety of a language as being purer than other varieties. The ideal of purity is often opposed in reference to a perceived decline from an "ideal past" or an unwanted similarity with other languages, but sometimes simply...
is strongly supported in Iceland in an attempt to prevent loanword
Loanword
A loanword is a word borrowed from a donor language and incorporated into a recipient language. By contrast, a calque or loan translation is a related concept where the meaning or idiom is borrowed rather than the lexical item itself. The word loanword is itself a calque of the German Lehnwort,...
s from entering the language. Instead, neologisms are coined from Icelandic roots, creating compound words to describe new concepts. It is often the case that old words which are no longer used are recycled with a new meaning. It should be noted, however, that some loanwords persist in Icelandic, and many more, the majority anglicism
Anglicism
An Anglicism, as most often defined, is a word borrowed from English into another language. "Anglicism" also describes English syntax, grammar, meaning, and structure used in another language with varying degrees of corruption.-Anglicisms in Chinese:...
s, are used in everyday speech.
Education
The system of education in Iceland is based upon the American systemEducation in the United States
Education in the United States is mainly provided by the public sector, with control and funding coming from three levels: federal, state, and local. Child education is compulsory.Public education is universally available...
, and there are four levels: pre-school, compulsory, upper secondary and higher. Education is mandatory for children aged six to sixteen. Most institutions are funded by the state, there are very few private school
Private school
Private schools, also known as independent schools or nonstate schools, are not administered by local, state or national governments; thus, they retain the right to select their students and are funded in whole or in part by charging their students' tuition, rather than relying on mandatory...
s in the country. The Ministry of Education, Science and Culture has the jurisdiction of educational responsibility. Over the years, the educational system has been decentralised
Décentralisation
Décentralisation is a french word for both a policy concept in French politics from 1968-1990, and a term employed to describe the results of observations of the evolution of spatial economic and institutional organization of France....
and responsibility for primary
Primary education
A primary school is an institution in which children receive the first stage of compulsory education known as primary or elementary education. Primary school is the preferred term in the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth Nations, and in most publications of the United Nations Educational,...
and lower secondary
Secondary education
Secondary education is the stage of education following primary education. Secondary education includes the final stage of compulsory education and in many countries it is entirely compulsory. The next stage of education is usually college or university...
schools lies with the local authorities. The state runs upper secondary schools
Tertiary education
Tertiary education, also referred to as third stage, third level, and post-secondary education, is the educational level following the completion of a school providing a secondary education, such as a high school, secondary school, university-preparatory school...
and higher education
Higher education
Higher, post-secondary, tertiary, or third level education refers to the stage of learning that occurs at universities, academies, colleges, seminaries, and institutes of technology...
institutions.
Arts
Prose
Prose is the most typical form of written language, applying ordinary grammatical structure and natural flow of speech rather than rhythmic structure...
and poetry
Poetry
Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
; in particular the saga
Saga
Sagas, are stories in Old Norse about ancient Scandinavian and Germanic history, etc.Saga may also refer to:Business*Saga DAB radio, a British radio station*Saga Airlines, a Turkish airline*Saga Falabella, a department store chain in Peru...
s and edda
Edda
The term Edda applies to the Old Norse Poetic Edda and Prose Edda, both of which were written down in Iceland during the 13th century in Icelandic, although they contain material from earlier traditional sources, reaching into the Viking Age...
s.
Literature
Halldór Laxness
Halldór Kiljan Laxness was a twentieth-century Icelandic writer. Throughout his career Laxness wrote poetry, newspaper articles, plays, travelogues, short stories, and novels...
, Guðmundur Kamban
Guðmundur Kamban
Guðmundur Kamban was an Icelandic playwright and novelist.He was born near Reykjavík, son of a merchant of an old and well known Icelandic family. He graduated from the College of Reykjavík, where he received honoris causa in literature and language...
, Tómas Guðmundsson
Tómas Guðmundsson
Tómas Guðmundsson was an Icelandic author. He was known as Reykjavík's poet ....
, Davíð Stefánsson
Davíð Stefánsson
Davíð Stefánsson from Fagriskógur was a famous Icelandic poet and novelist, best known as a poet of humanity....
, Jón Thoroddsen
Jón Thoroddsen
Jón Thoroddsen may refer to:*Jón Thoroddsen elder *Jón Thoroddsen junior...
, Steinn Steinarr, Guðmundur G. Hagalín
Guðmundur G. Hagalín
Guðmundur G. Hagalín came from the sea-girt Western Fiords of Iceland, where he was a fisherman before attending secondary school. Later, he lectured on Iceland in Norway for a few years , and became a superintendent of public libraries. His home was fairly near Reykjavík...
, Þórbergur Þórðarson
Þórbergur Þórðarson
Þórbergur Þórðarson was an Icelandic socialist author and Esperantist...
and Jóhannes úr Kötlum
Jóhannes úr Kötlum
Jóhannes Jónasson úr Kötlum was an Icelandic author. He used the pseudonym Anonymus when he published poems written in modern style.-Publications:* 1926: Bí bí og blaka, poems* 1932: Jólin koma, poems...
.
Iceland's best-known classical works of literature are the Icelanders' sagas
Icelanders' sagas
The Sagas of Icelanders —many of which are also known as family sagas—are prose histories mostly describing events that took place in Iceland in the 10th and early 11th centuries, during the so-called Saga Age. They are the best-known specimens of Icelandic literature.The Icelanders'...
, prose epics set in Iceland's age of settlement. The most famous of these include Njáls saga, about an epic blood feud, and Grænlendinga saga
Grœnlendinga saga
The Grœnlendinga saga is an Icelandic saga. Along with Eiríks saga rauða it is one of the two main literary sources of information for the Norse exploration of North America. It relates the colonization of Greenland by Erik the Red and his followers...
and Eiríks saga
Saga of Eric the Red
Eiríks saga rauða or the Saga of Erik the Red is a saga on the Norse exploration of North-America.The saga chronicles the events that led to Erik the Red's banishment to Greenland as well as Leif Ericson's discovery of Vinland the Good after his longship was blown off course...
, describing the discovery and settlement of Greenland
Greenland
Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...
and Vinland
Vinland
Vinland was the name given to an area of North America by the Norsemen, about the year 1000 CE.There is a consensus among scholars that the Vikings reached North America approximately five centuries prior to the voyages of Christopher Columbus...
(modern Newfoundland
Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada. Situated in the country's Atlantic region, it incorporates the island of Newfoundland and mainland Labrador with a combined area of . As of April 2011, the province's estimated population is 508,400...
). Egils saga
Egils saga
Egils saga is an epic Icelandic saga. The oldest transcript dates back to 1240 AD. The saga is centered on the life of Egill Skallagrímsson, an Icelandic farmer, viking and skald...
, Laxdæla saga, Grettis saga
Grettis saga
Grettis saga is one of the Icelanders' sagas. It details the life of Grettir Ásmundarson, a bellicose Icelandic outlaw.- Overview :...
, Gísla saga
Gísla saga
Gísla saga Súrssonar is one of the Sagas of Icelanders. It tells the story of Gisli, a tragic hero who must kill one of his brothers-in-law to avenge another brother-in-law. Gisli is outlawed and forced to stay on the run for thirteen years before he is finally hunted down and killed...
and Gunnlaugs saga ormstungu are also notable and popular Icelanders' sagas
Icelanders' sagas
The Sagas of Icelanders —many of which are also known as family sagas—are prose histories mostly describing events that took place in Iceland in the 10th and early 11th centuries, during the so-called Saga Age. They are the best-known specimens of Icelandic literature.The Icelanders'...
.
W. H. Auden
W. H. Auden
Wystan Hugh Auden , who published as W. H. Auden, was an Anglo-American poet,The first definition of "Anglo-American" in the OED is: "Of, belonging to, or involving both England and America." See also the definition "English in origin or birth, American by settlement or citizenship" in See also...
and Louis MacNeice
Louis MacNeice
Frederick Louis MacNeice CBE was an Irish poet and playwright. He was part of the generation of "thirties poets" which included W. H. Auden, Stephen Spender and Cecil Day-Lewis; nicknamed "MacSpaunday" as a group — a name invented by Roy Campbell, in his Talking Bronco...
wrote Letters From Iceland (1937) to describe their travels through that country.
Painting and sculpture
The first professional secular painterPainting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
s appeared in Iceland in the 19th century. This group of artists included Jóhannes Sveinsson Kjarval
Jóhannes Sveinsson Kjarval
Jóhannes Sveinsson Kjarval was an Icelandic painter. He is one of the most famous artists of Iceland.The paintings of Kjarval vary greatly in style. Most of them are rather realistic presentations of the Icelandic landscape whereas others are more influenced by a somewhat mythical style...
who was famous for his paintings portraying village life in Iceland. Ásmundur Sveinsson
Ásmundur Sveinsson
Ásmundur Sveinsson was an Icelandic sculptor, was born at Kolsstadir in West Iceland on May 20, 1893 and died in Reykjavík on December 9, 1982.-Early years:...
, a 20th century sculptor, was also from Iceland. Silver working and its old traditions have been preserved.
Einar Hákonarson
Einar Hákonarson
Einar Hákonarson is one of Iceland's best known artists. He is an expressionistic and figurative painter who brought the figure back into Icelandic painting in 1968. He is a pioneer in the Icelandic art scene and art education...
is an expressionistic and figurative
Figurative art
Figurative art, sometimes written as figurativism, describes artwork—particularly paintings and sculptures—which are clearly derived from real object sources, and are therefore by definition representational.-Definition:...
painter who brought the figure back into Icelandic painting in 1968. He is a pioneer in the Icelandic art scene and art education. He has been called “The crusader of the painting”, due to his involvement in those conflicts many Icelandic painters had with the public fine art centers. He was a driving force in founding The Icelandic Printmaking Association and its first president.
Architecture
Icelandic architecture draws from Scandinavia
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
n influences and, traditionally, was influenced by the lack of native trees on the island. As a result, grass
Grass
Grasses, or more technically graminoids, are monocotyledonous, usually herbaceous plants with narrow leaves growing from the base. They include the "true grasses", of the Poaceae family, as well as the sedges and the rushes . The true grasses include cereals, bamboo and the grasses of lawns ...
- and turf
Artificial turf
Artificial turf is a surface manufactured from synthetic fibers made to look like natural grass. It is most often used in arenas for sports that were originally or are normally played on grass. However, it is now being used on residential lawns and commercial applications as well...
-covered houses were developed. The original grasshouses
Icelandic turf houses
The Icelandic turf house was the product of a difficult climate, offering superior insulation compared to buildings solely made of wood or stone, and the relative difficulty in obtaining other construction materials in sufficient quantities....
constructed by the original settlers of Iceland were based on Viking
Viking
The term Viking is customarily used to refer to the Norse explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates who raided, traded, explored and settled in wide areas of Europe, Asia and the North Atlantic islands from the late 8th to the mid-11th century.These Norsemen used their famed longships to...
longhouses.
Transport
There are no railways in Iceland. The country has an extensive road network, and a ring roadRing road
A ring road, orbital motorway, beltway, circumferential highway, or loop highway is a road that encircles a town or city...
follows the coast, making it theoretically possible to traverse the entire island. Sea
Sea
A sea generally refers to a large body of salt water, but the term is used in other contexts as well. Most commonly, it means a large expanse of saline water connected with an ocean, and is commonly used as a synonym for ocean...
and air transport are both popular to connect larger population centers.
Tourism
One of the most popular tourist attractions in Iceland is visiting the geothermal spaSpa
The term spa is associated with water treatment which is also known as balneotherapy. Spa towns or spa resorts typically offer various health treatments. The belief in the curative powers of mineral waters goes back to prehistoric times. Such practices have been popular worldwide, but are...
s and pools that can be found all around the country, such as Bláa Lónið
Blue Lagoon (geothermal spa)
The Blue Lagoon geothermal spa and is one of the most visited attractions in Iceland. The steamy waters are part of a lava formation. The spa is located in a lava field in Grindavík on the Reykjanes Peninsula, southwestern Iceland...
(The Blue Lagoon) on the Reykjanes Peninsula
Reykjanes
Reykjanes or Reykjanesskagi is a peninsula and a volcanic system situated at the south-western end of Iceland, near the capital of Reykjavík....
near the Keflavík International Airport
Keflavík International Airport
-Cargo airlines:-Ground transport:Transport between the airport and Reykjavik city is by road only. The distance is 50 km. A new fast freeway was opened 2008. The buses have a timetable adapted to the flight schedule. They go to and from the Reykjavik bus terminal, taking around 45 minutes...
.
See also
- Architecture of IcelandArchitecture of IcelandThe architecture of Iceland draws from Scandinavian influences and, traditionally, was influenced by the lack of native trees on the island. As a result, grass- and turf-covered houses were developed. Later on, the Swiss chalet style became a prevailing influence in Icelandic architecture as many...
- Cinema of IcelandCinema of IcelandIceland has a notable cinema film industry. There are many actors to list who have caught international attention. The most famous film, and the only one to be nominated for the Oscar and European film awards, is Children of nature, directed by Fridrik Thor Fridriksson...
- Cuisine of Iceland
- Icelandic literatureIcelandic literatureIcelandic literature refers to literature written in Iceland or by Icelandic people. It is best known for the sagas written in medieval times, starting in the 13th century. As Icelandic and Old Norse are almost the same, and because Icelandic works constitute most of Old Norse literature, Old Norse...
- Icelandic National CostumeBuningurinnÞjóðbúningurinn is the collective native term for the Icelandic national costumes. The national costume has enjoyed various levels of popularity since the term was coined in Iceland in the 19th century, during the fight for independence...
- LopapeysaLopapeysaLopapeysa or Icelandic sweater is an Icelandic style of sweater originating around or before the 50´s. At a time when foreign imports had displaced older and more traditional Icelandic clothing and people began to search for new ways to utilize the plentiful native wool...
- Music of IcelandMusic of IcelandThe music of Iceland includes vibrant folk and pop traditions. Well-known artists from Iceland include medieval music group Voces Thules, alternative rock band The Sugarcubes, singers Björk and Emiliana Torrini, and post-rock band Sigur Rós. Iceland's traditional music is related to Nordic music...
- Public holidays in IcelandPublic holidays in IcelandThe following is a table featuring all the public holidays celebrated in Iceland. The table sorts each holiday by its date, though often the dates are moveable. The English name column states the English name of the holiday if any, or a translation of the name...
- Television in IcelandTelevision in IcelandTelevision in Iceland began in September 1966. Channels can be received via analogue, or using broadband with the Skjárinn service from Síminn or Digital Ísland from Vodafone.- Present channels :...
- Center for Icelandic ArtCenter for Icelandic ArtThe CIA.IS - Center for Icelandic Art is the platform for Icelandic visual art activities. CIA.IS promotes Icelandic art by connecting the local visual art community with the international art network...
- Reykjavik to Foundation