Reykjavík – the Capital of Iceland

History of Reykjavík

According to the Book of Settlements, Ingólfur Arnarson threw his high-seat pillars overboard as he approached Iceland and vowed to settle wherever they washed ashore. His slaves found the pillars in a bay where smoke-like steam rose from the ground, and so Reykjavík ("Smoky Bay") got its name. Remains from the settlement era have been found in the city centre, and at the Settlement Exhibition in Aðalstræti you can see the ruins of a 10th-century longhouse.

For a long time Reykjavík was just a farm. In the 18th century the royal treasurer Skúli Magnússon founded the Innréttingar, woollen workshops that laid the foundations of a town. Reykjavík received its town charter on 18 August 1786, when about 170 people lived there. The Althing was re-established in Reykjavík in 1845, and the town became the capital of the country. In the 20th century it grew rapidly, and during the Second World War it was the centre of the British and later American occupation forces.

Main landmarks

• Hallgrímskirkja – a 74.5-metre church on Skólavörðuholt hill, designed by Guðjón Samúelsson. Construction began in 1945 and was completed in 1986. The tower offers the best view of the city. In front of the church stands a statue of Leifur Eiríksson (Leif the Lucky), a gift from the United States in 1930.
• Harpa – a concert and conference hall by the harbour, opened in 2011. Its glass facade was designed in collaboration with the artist Ólafur Elíasson.
• Höfði – a white wooden house where the Reagan–Gorbachev summit took place in October 1986.
• The Sun Voyager (Sólfar) – a steel sculpture by Jón Gunnar Árnason on Sæbraut, unveiled in 1990.
• Perlan – a landmark on Öskjuhlíð hill built on top of hot water tanks, with a nature exhibition and observation deck.
• The Parliament House and Austurvöllur – the heart of politics; a statue of Jón Sigurðsson stands on Austurvöllur square.
• Tjörnin and City Hall – City Hall stands in the lake Tjörnin and houses a large relief map of Iceland.

Neighbourhoods

Museums and culture

Reykjavík has dozens of museums. The National Museum of Iceland tells the story of the nation from the settlement to the present. Reykjavík Art Museum has three venues: Hafnarhús, Kjarvalsstaðir and Ásmundarsafn. The National Gallery of Iceland, the Settlement Exhibition, the Maritime Museum and the Culture House are also popular. The Iceland Symphony Orchestra and the Icelandic Opera perform in Harpa, and the National Theatre has operated since 1950.

Reykjavík was designated a UNESCO City of Literature in 2011. Highlights of the year include the Winter Lights Festival, DesignMarch, the Reykjavík Arts Festival, Reykjavík Pride, Culture Night, the Reykjavík Marathon, the RIFF international film festival and the Iceland Airwaves music festival.

Practical information

Reykjavík is a small and pleasant city to walk around. It takes only about ten minutes to walk from Hallgrímskirkja down to the harbour. Strætó buses run throughout the city and neighbouring municipalities. Taxis are expensive but available. Whale-watching and puffin tours depart from the old harbour in summer, and from Skarfabakki a ferry sails to Viðey island, where Yoko Ono's Imagine Peace Tower lights up the sky in autumn and over Christmas and New Year.