Þingvellir
Encyclopedia
(ˈθiŋkˌvɛtlɪr̥, Thing
Fields) is a place in Bláskógabyggð
in southwestern Iceland
, near the peninsula
of Reykjanes
and the Hengill
volcanic
area. Þingvellir is a site of historical, cultural, and geological importance and is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Iceland
. It is the site of a rift valley
that marks the crest of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge
. It is also home to Þingvallavatn
, the largest natural lake in Iceland.
Parliament or Alþingi was established at Þingvellir in 930 and remained there until 1789. Þingvellir National Park was founded in 1930 to protect the remains of the parliament site and was later expanded to protect natural phenomena in the surrounding area. Þingvellir National Park was the first national park in Iceland and was decreed "a protected national shrine for all Icelanders, the perpetual property of the Icelandic nation under the preservation of parliament, never to be sold or mortgaged."
, the settlement of Iceland
began in AD 874 when the Norwegian chieftain Ingólfur Arnarson
became the first permanent Norwegian settler on the island. Over the next centuries, people of Norse
and Celtic origin settled in Iceland. Early on, district assemblies were formed, but as the population grew there was a need for a general assembly. The descendants of Ingólfur Arnarson
who dominated the region of southwest Iceland had become the most powerful family in the country, and other chieftains felt a need for a general assembly to limit their power.
Grímur Geitskör was allotted the role of rallying support and finding a suitable location for the assembly. At about the same time, the owner of Bláskógar (then name for the Þingvellir region) was found guilty of murder and his land was declared public and obligated to be used for assembly proceedings, the building of temporary dwellings, the use of the forest for kindling and the grazing of horses. The Þingvellir region was chosen for this reason and the accessibility from the most populous regions of the North, South and West. The farthest distance a goði (chieftain) had to travel was 17 days traveling from the easternmost part of the country where mountains and glacial rivers proved bothersome obstacles.
The foundation of the Icelandic parliament is said to be the founding of the nation of Iceland, and the first parliamentary proceedings in the summer of 930 laid ground for a common cultural heritage and national identity. Þingvellir played a central role in the history of the country, and its history runs almost parallel with the history of the Icelandic Commonwealth
.
(assembly) at Þingvellir was Iceland's supreme legislative and judicial authority from its establishment in 930 until 1271. The Lögberg
(Law Rock) was the focal point of the Alþingi and a natural platform for holding speeches. The Lawspeaker, elected for three years at a time, presided over the assembly and recited the law of the land. Before the law was written down, he was expected to recite it from memory on the Lögberg over the course of three summers along with the complete assembly procedures every summer. Inauguration and dissolution of the assembly took place at the Lögberg, where rulings made by the Law Council were announced, the calendar was confirmed, legal actions were brought and other announcements made which concerned the entire nation. Anyone attending the assembly was entitled to present his case on important issues from the Lögberg.
The Law Council served as both a parliament and supreme court. Laws were passed and approved there, and rulings made on points of Law. The Law Council appointed members of the Fifth Court (a kind of appellate court
), appointed the Lawspeaker, and took part in the election of the bishop. Unlike the Alþingi, the Law Council was a closed body in which only certain people enjoyed full rights: chieftains who held the office of "goði
", their "Þingmen" and later also bishops. However, everyone at the assembly was entitled to watch and listen to the Law Council at work.
From the earliest times until the 15th century, the Law Council met at Neðri-Vellir on the east bank of Öxará, but when the river changed its course around 1500, the council was moved to an islet in it. In 1594, the Law Council was relocated to the foot of the ancient Law Rock, where it remained until the Alþingi was finally transferred from it in 1798.
The Alþingi was Iceland's legislative and chief judicial authority for the duration of the Commonwealth, until 1271. Executive power was in the hands of the chieftains and parties to individual cases at each time. This proved to be quite an adequate arrangement for as long as the balance of power remained, but flaws emerged when it was disrupted. The final decades of the Commonwealth were characterized by clashes between chieftain families, which resulted in Iceland becoming part of the Norwegian crown. Executive power was strengthened under this new order, while legislative and judicial authority remained in the hands of the Alþingi but was gradually transferred to the Norwegian and later Danish rulers until the King of Denmark became an absolute monarch of Iceland in 1662.
period, people would flock to Þingvellir from all over the country, sometimes numbering in the thousands. They set up dwellings with walls of turf and rock and temporary roofing and stayed in them for the two weeks of the assembly. Although the duties of the assembly were the real reason for going there, ordinary people gathered at Þingvellir for a wide variety of reasons. Merchants, sword-sharpeners, and tanners would sell their goods and services, entertainers performed, and ale-makers brewed drinks for the assembly guests. News was told from distant parts; games and feasts were held. Young people met to make their plans, no less than leading national figures and experts in law. Itinerant farmhands looked for work and vagrants begged. Þingvellir was a meeting place for everyone in Iceland, laying the foundation for the language and literature that have been a prominent part of people's lives right up to the present day.
became a national park in 1928 due to its historical importance, as well as the special tectonic and volcanic
environment.
The continental drift
between the North American
and Eurasian Plate
s can be clearly seen in the cracks or fault
s which traverse the region, the biggest one, Almannagjá, being a veritable canyon. This also causes the often-measurable earthquake
s in the area.
Some of the rifts are full of surprisingly clear water. One, , is better known as (lit. "coin fissure"), as it is littered with coins at its bottom. After being bridged in 1907 for the arrival of King Frederick VIII of Denmark
, visitors began to throw coins in the fissure, a tradition based on European legends.
is situated on the northern shore of , the largest natural lake of Iceland. The river traverses the national park and forms a waterfall at the , called . On the lake's northern shore Silfra
fissure is a popular dive and snorkel tour location. Together with the waterfall Gullfoss
and the geyser
s of Haukadalur
, is part of the most famous sights of Iceland, the Golden Circle
.
is a designated UNESCO
World Heritage Site
.
in the U.S. State
of North Dakota
, home to one of that state's earliest Icelandic settlements, was named in honor of Þingvellir.
Thing (assembly)
A thing was the governing assembly in Germanic and introduced into some Celtic societies, made up of the free people of the community and presided by lawspeakers, meeting in a place called a thingstead...
Fields) is a place in Bláskógabyggð
Bláskógabyggð
Bláskógabyggð is a municipality located in western Iceland, and is situated fully inland.As of 1 January 2011, it had a total population of 935. The total area is 3,300 km². The major settlements are Reykholt, Laugarás and Laugarvatn....
in southwestern Iceland
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...
, near the peninsula
Peninsula
A peninsula is a piece of land that is bordered by water on three sides but connected to mainland. In many Germanic and Celtic languages and also in Baltic, Slavic and Hungarian, peninsulas are called "half-islands"....
of Reykjanes
Reykjanes
Reykjanes or Reykjanesskagi is a peninsula and a volcanic system situated at the south-western end of Iceland, near the capital of Reykjavík....
and the Hengill
Hengill
The Hengill central volcano is situated in the southwest of Iceland, to the south of Þingvellir. The volcano covers an area of about 100 km²....
volcanic
Volcano
2. Bedrock3. Conduit 4. Base5. Sill6. Dike7. Layers of ash emitted by the volcano8. Flank| 9. Layers of lava emitted by the volcano10. Throat11. Parasitic cone12. Lava flow13. Vent14. Crater15...
area. Þingvellir is a site of historical, cultural, and geological importance and is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Iceland
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...
. It is the site of a rift valley
Rift valley
A rift valley is a linear-shaped lowland between highlands or mountain ranges created by the action of a geologic rift or fault. This action is manifest as crustal extension, a spreading apart of the surface which is subsequently further deepened by the forces of erosion...
that marks the crest of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge
Mid-Atlantic Ridge
The Mid-Atlantic Ridge is a mid-ocean ridge, a divergent tectonic plate boundary located along the floor of the Atlantic Ocean, and part of the longest mountain range in the world. It separates the Eurasian Plate and North American Plate in the North Atlantic, and the African Plate from the South...
. It is also home to Þingvallavatn
Þingvallavatn
Þingvallavatn is a lake in south-western Iceland. With a surface of 84 km² it is the largest natural lake in Iceland. Its greatest depth is at 114 m. At the northern shore of the lake, at Þingvellir , the Alþingi, the national parliament, was founded in the year 930.The lake is part of the...
, the largest natural lake in Iceland.
Parliament or Alþingi was established at Þingvellir in 930 and remained there until 1789. Þingvellir National Park was founded in 1930 to protect the remains of the parliament site and was later expanded to protect natural phenomena in the surrounding area. Þingvellir National Park was the first national park in Iceland and was decreed "a protected national shrine for all Icelanders, the perpetual property of the Icelandic nation under the preservation of parliament, never to be sold or mortgaged."
Founding of Parliament
According to LandnámabókLandnámabók
Landnámabók , often shortened to Landnáma, is a medieval Icelandic written work describing in considerable detail the settlement of Iceland by the Norse in the 9th and 10th centuries AD.-Landnáma:...
, the settlement of Iceland
Settlement of Iceland
The settlement of Iceland is generally believed to have begun in the second half of the 9th century, when Norse settlers migrated across the North Atlantic. The reasons for the migration may be traced to a shortage of arable land in Scandinavia, and civil strife brought about by the ambitions of...
began in AD 874 when the Norwegian chieftain Ingólfur Arnarson
Ingólfur Arnarson
Ingólfr Arnarson is recognized as the first permanent Nordic settler of Iceland. According to Landnáma he built his homestead in Reykjavík in 874...
became the first permanent Norwegian settler on the island. Over the next centuries, people of Norse
Norsemen
Norsemen is used to refer to the group of people as a whole who spoke what is now called the Old Norse language belonging to the North Germanic branch of Indo-European languages, especially Norwegian, Icelandic, Faroese, Swedish and Danish in their earlier forms.The meaning of Norseman was "people...
and Celtic origin settled in Iceland. Early on, district assemblies were formed, but as the population grew there was a need for a general assembly. The descendants of Ingólfur Arnarson
Ingólfur Arnarson
Ingólfr Arnarson is recognized as the first permanent Nordic settler of Iceland. According to Landnáma he built his homestead in Reykjavík in 874...
who dominated the region of southwest Iceland had become the most powerful family in the country, and other chieftains felt a need for a general assembly to limit their power.
Grímur Geitskör was allotted the role of rallying support and finding a suitable location for the assembly. At about the same time, the owner of Bláskógar (then name for the Þingvellir region) was found guilty of murder and his land was declared public and obligated to be used for assembly proceedings, the building of temporary dwellings, the use of the forest for kindling and the grazing of horses. The Þingvellir region was chosen for this reason and the accessibility from the most populous regions of the North, South and West. The farthest distance a goði (chieftain) had to travel was 17 days traveling from the easternmost part of the country where mountains and glacial rivers proved bothersome obstacles.
The foundation of the Icelandic parliament is said to be the founding of the nation of Iceland, and the first parliamentary proceedings in the summer of 930 laid ground for a common cultural heritage and national identity. Þingvellir played a central role in the history of the country, and its history runs almost parallel with the history of the Icelandic Commonwealth
Icelandic Commonwealth
The Icelandic Commonwealth, Icelandic Free State, or Republic of Iceland was the state existing in Iceland between the establishment of the Althing in 930 and the pledge of fealty to the Norwegian king in 1262...
.
From commonwealth to foreign rule
The AlþingiAlthing
The Alþingi, anglicised variously as Althing or Althingi, is the national parliament of Iceland. The Althingi is the oldest parliamentary institution in the world still extant...
(assembly) at Þingvellir was Iceland's supreme legislative and judicial authority from its establishment in 930 until 1271. The Lögberg
Lögberg
The Icelandic Althing is the oldest parliament in Europe. The original Althing was gathered at Þingvellir. The center of the gathering was the Lögberg, or Law Rock, a rocky outcrop on which the Lawspeaker took his seat as the presiding official of the assembly....
(Law Rock) was the focal point of the Alþingi and a natural platform for holding speeches. The Lawspeaker, elected for three years at a time, presided over the assembly and recited the law of the land. Before the law was written down, he was expected to recite it from memory on the Lögberg over the course of three summers along with the complete assembly procedures every summer. Inauguration and dissolution of the assembly took place at the Lögberg, where rulings made by the Law Council were announced, the calendar was confirmed, legal actions were brought and other announcements made which concerned the entire nation. Anyone attending the assembly was entitled to present his case on important issues from the Lögberg.
The Law Council served as both a parliament and supreme court. Laws were passed and approved there, and rulings made on points of Law. The Law Council appointed members of the Fifth Court (a kind of appellate court
Appellate court
An appellate court, commonly called an appeals court or court of appeals or appeal court , is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal...
), appointed the Lawspeaker, and took part in the election of the bishop. Unlike the Alþingi, the Law Council was a closed body in which only certain people enjoyed full rights: chieftains who held the office of "goði
Gothi
A goði or gothi is the Old Norse term for a priest and chieftain. Gyðja signifies a priestess.The name appears in Wulfila's Gothic language translation of the bible as gudja for "priest", but in Old Norse it is only the feminine form gyðja that perfectly corresponds to the Gothic form...
", their "Þingmen" and later also bishops. However, everyone at the assembly was entitled to watch and listen to the Law Council at work.
From the earliest times until the 15th century, the Law Council met at Neðri-Vellir on the east bank of Öxará, but when the river changed its course around 1500, the council was moved to an islet in it. In 1594, the Law Council was relocated to the foot of the ancient Law Rock, where it remained until the Alþingi was finally transferred from it in 1798.
The Alþingi was Iceland's legislative and chief judicial authority for the duration of the Commonwealth, until 1271. Executive power was in the hands of the chieftains and parties to individual cases at each time. This proved to be quite an adequate arrangement for as long as the balance of power remained, but flaws emerged when it was disrupted. The final decades of the Commonwealth were characterized by clashes between chieftain families, which resulted in Iceland becoming part of the Norwegian crown. Executive power was strengthened under this new order, while legislative and judicial authority remained in the hands of the Alþingi but was gradually transferred to the Norwegian and later Danish rulers until the King of Denmark became an absolute monarch of Iceland in 1662.
Social center
Þingvellir was the center of Icelandic culture. Every year during the CommonwealthIcelandic Commonwealth
The Icelandic Commonwealth, Icelandic Free State, or Republic of Iceland was the state existing in Iceland between the establishment of the Althing in 930 and the pledge of fealty to the Norwegian king in 1262...
period, people would flock to Þingvellir from all over the country, sometimes numbering in the thousands. They set up dwellings with walls of turf and rock and temporary roofing and stayed in them for the two weeks of the assembly. Although the duties of the assembly were the real reason for going there, ordinary people gathered at Þingvellir for a wide variety of reasons. Merchants, sword-sharpeners, and tanners would sell their goods and services, entertainers performed, and ale-makers brewed drinks for the assembly guests. News was told from distant parts; games and feasts were held. Young people met to make their plans, no less than leading national figures and experts in law. Itinerant farmhands looked for work and vagrants begged. Þingvellir was a meeting place for everyone in Iceland, laying the foundation for the language and literature that have been a prominent part of people's lives right up to the present day.
Geography
Volcano
2. Bedrock3. Conduit 4. Base5. Sill6. Dike7. Layers of ash emitted by the volcano8. Flank| 9. Layers of lava emitted by the volcano10. Throat11. Parasitic cone12. Lava flow13. Vent14. Crater15...
environment.
The continental drift
Continental drift
Continental drift is the movement of the Earth's continents relative to each other. The hypothesis that continents 'drift' was first put forward by Abraham Ortelius in 1596 and was fully developed by Alfred Wegener in 1912...
between the North American
North American Plate
The North American Plate is a tectonic plate covering most of North America, Greenland, Cuba, Bahamas, and parts of Siberia, Japan and Iceland. It extends eastward to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and westward to the Chersky Range in eastern Siberia. The plate includes both continental and oceanic crust...
and Eurasian Plate
Eurasian Plate
The Eurasian Plate is a tectonic plate which includes most of the continent of Eurasia , with the notable exceptions of the Indian subcontinent, the Arabian subcontinent, and the area east of the Chersky Range in East Siberia...
s can be clearly seen in the cracks or fault
Geologic fault
In geology, a fault is a planar fracture or discontinuity in a volume of rock, across which there has been significant displacement along the fractures as a result of earth movement. Large faults within the Earth's crust result from the action of tectonic forces...
s which traverse the region, the biggest one, Almannagjá, being a veritable canyon. This also causes the often-measurable earthquake
Earthquake
An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves. The seismicity, seismism or seismic activity of an area refers to the frequency, type and size of earthquakes experienced over a period of time...
s in the area.
Some of the rifts are full of surprisingly clear water. One, , is better known as (lit. "coin fissure"), as it is littered with coins at its bottom. After being bridged in 1907 for the arrival of King Frederick VIII of Denmark
Frederick VIII of Denmark
Frederick VIII was King of Denmark from 1906 to 1912.-Early life:Frederick was born on 3 June 1843 in the Yellow Palace in Copenhagen as Prince Frederick of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, a junior male line of the House of Oldenburg descended from Christian III of Denmark and who had...
, visitors began to throw coins in the fissure, a tradition based on European legends.
is situated on the northern shore of , the largest natural lake of Iceland. The river traverses the national park and forms a waterfall at the , called . On the lake's northern shore Silfra
Silfra
Located in the Þingvallavatn Lake in the Þingvellir National Park in Iceland, Silfra is a rift that is part of the divergent tectonic boundary between the North American and Eurasian plates....
fissure is a popular dive and snorkel tour location. Together with the waterfall Gullfoss
Gullfoss
Gullfoss is a waterfall located in the canyon of Hvítá river in southwest Iceland.Gullfoss is one of the most popular tourist attractions in the country. The wide Hvítá rushes southward...
and the geyser
Geyser
A geyser is a spring characterized by intermittent discharge of water ejected turbulently and accompanied by a vapour phase . The word geyser comes from Geysir, the name of an erupting spring at Haukadalur, Iceland; that name, in turn, comes from the Icelandic verb geysa, "to gush", the verb...
s of Haukadalur
Haukadalur
-Haukadalur, Golden Circle:This valley lies to the north of the Laugarvatn in the south of Iceland at .There are to be seen some of the most famous sights of the island: the geysers and other geothermal features which have developed on Laugarfjall rhyolitic dome. The biggest geysers of Haukadalur...
, is part of the most famous sights of Iceland, the Golden Circle
Golden Circle (Iceland)
The Golden Circle is a popular tourist route in South Iceland, covering about 300 km looping from Reykjavík into central Iceland and back.The three primary stops on the route are the national park Þingvellir, the waterfall Gullfoss , and the geothermally active valley of Haukadalur, which contains...
.
is a designated UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
World Heritage Site
World Heritage Site
A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...
.
Related places
Thingvalla TownshipThingvalla Township, Pembina County, North Dakota
Thingvalla Township is a township in Pembina County, North Dakota, United States. The 2000 Census reported a population of 121, and an estimated population of 103 as of 2009. President Ólafur Grímsson of Iceland visited area in 1999 to dedicate a monument to poet K. N...
in the U.S. State
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of North Dakota
North Dakota
North Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States of America, along the Canadian border. The state is bordered by Canada to the north, Minnesota to the east, South Dakota to the south and Montana to the west. North Dakota is the 19th-largest state by area in the U.S....
, home to one of that state's earliest Icelandic settlements, was named in honor of Þingvellir.
See also
- Crymostygius thingvallensis
- Salvelinus thingvallensis
- Thingvalla Township, North DakotaThingvalla Township, Pembina County, North DakotaThingvalla Township is a township in Pembina County, North Dakota, United States. The 2000 Census reported a population of 121, and an estimated population of 103 as of 2009. President Ólafur Grímsson of Iceland visited area in 1999 to dedicate a monument to poet K. N...