Iceland is a small country and only 364,000 people live on this small island in the North Atlantic. The capital is home to 112,000 inhabitants of this country.
Meet amazing facts about Reykjavik.
1. Iceland is proud of its oldest parliament in the world, which was founded in Thingvellir in 930. At the beginning of the 19th century, the national parliament, the Althing, was re-established in 1844 in Reykjavik, where it still sits next to the Austurvollur square.
2. Reykjavik is the capital and largest city of Iceland.
3. Located in the southwest of Iceland, on the southern coast of Fax Bay.
4. In 2019, Reykjavik had about 130,000 inhabitants.
5. Between 1915 and 1989, beer was banned in Iceland.
6. In July, there were no television programs in this country until 1983.
7. Reykjavik covers a total area of 273 km2.
8. Mount Esja, with a height of 914 meters, is the highest mountain in Reykjavik and its surroundings.
9. Icelandic is a difficult language and few people outside of Icelandic speak Icelandic.
10. The tallest building in the city of Reykjavik is its famous Hallgrimskirkja Protestant Church.
11. One of the most popular dishes in Iceland? They are hot dogs. Try to eat sausages in Bjarin Beztu Pilsur.
12. Because the city is so close to the Arctic Circle and the North Pole, Reykjavik can get as little as 4 hours of sunshine in the middle of winter, and 21 hours of daylight in summer!
13. Nearly half of the population during World War II was British and American. British troops arrived in Reykjavik on May 10, 1940, occupying Iceland. A year later, America took over the military defense of Iceland.
14. Unemployment, which was a constant problem in the 1930s, was leveled overnight because Icelanders did various jobs in the army, including building barracks for soldiers.
15. The largest market in the country is Kolaporti?, located near the port of Reykjavik.
16. In 1924-1984, dogs were not allowed into Reykjavik. Iceland was still a predominantly rural society, and the vast majority of Reykjavik’s residents were either first or second generation rural immigrants. They considered dogs to be farm animals that really could not adapt to life in the city.
17. The largest river flowing through Reykjavik is the Ellidaa River. This is one of the best salmon rivers in the country.
18. Everyone who visited Reykjavik noticed that the city was full of cats. There is no official data on the number of cats in Reykjavik, but the Icelandic Cat Protection Society estimates that there could be up to 20,000 cats in the metropolitan area, or one cat in ten.
19. Although Icelanders love hamburgers and coffee, Mcdonalds and Starbucks do not operate in Reykjavik.
20. Reykjavik is the northernmost capital of a sovereign state in the world. Only Nuuk, the capital of Greenland, is north of Reykjavik.
21. Mcdonalds once operated in Reykjavik from 1993 to 2009, but went out of business due to a financial crash that pushed up meat import costs and because McDonalds struggled with local competition in Iceland.
22. Reykjavik was founded in 874 by the Norwegian Ingolfur Arnarson.