ICELAND
FACTS
 Vacation
in
Iceland and you’ll enter a whole new realm of experience. You’ll
discover original nature as you’ve never seen it before, and the
equally original people for whom timeless nature, ancient heritage and
modern lifestyle coexist in harmony. The freedom to roam in the city or
the wilds as you please, explore and have fun — this is the key to the
Iceland experience.
Iceland is an island of 39,756 square
miles, about the size of Virginia, with an average height of 500m above
sea level. Its highest peak, Hvannadalshnukur, rises to 2,119m, and
glaciers, including Vatnajokull, the largest in Europe, cover over 11
percent of the country.
Situated on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge,
Iceland is a hot spot of geothermal activity. Thirty post-glacial
volcanoes have erupted in the past two centuries, and natural hot water
supplies much of the population with cheap, pollution-free heating.
Rivers, too, are harnessed to provide inexpensive hydroelectric power.
The electrical current is 220 volts, 50 Hz.
Of a population numbering just over a
quarter of a million, half live in the capital, Reykjavik, and its
neighboring towns in the southwest. Keflavik International Airport is
located about 50km from the capital. The highland interior is
uninhabited (and uninhabitable), and most of the population is situated
along the coast.
The economy is heavily dependent upon
fisheries, which are the nation’s major resource, and almost 60
percent of all exports are made up of seafood products. Yet only a small
proportion of the workforce is active in this sector (5 percent in
fishing, 6.5 percent in fish processing), and over 50 percent of the
workforce is employed in services, public and other.
In
spite of its mid-Atlantic location, Iceland is on Greenwich Mean Time
all year round. There is a five-hour time difference between New
York and Iceland. Iceland
is served only by Icelandair from the USA with departures from New York,
Boston, Baltimore and Minneapolis.
Flight time is about 5-6 hours from the USA and 4-5 hours from
Europe. Stop-overs in Iceland are allowed on flights between USA and
Europe usually at no additional airfare.
We offer a number of escorted tours in Iceland as well as
independent suggestions for self-drive and stop-over packages. Also, for a truly unforgettable vacation you may add
Greenland to your Iceland visit. After
all, Greenland’s East Coast is only 2 hours away by air from
Reykjavik.
Brief History of Iceland
The first people known to have inhabited Iceland were Irish monks or
hermits who came in the eighth century, but left with the arrival of the
pagan Norsemen, who systematically settled Iceland in the period 870 -
930 A.D. Iceland was thus the last European country to be settled.
The main source of information about the
settlement period in Iceland is the Landnámabók (Book of Settlements),
written in the 12th century, which gives a detailed account of the first
settlers. According to this book IngŰlfur Arnarson was the first
settler. He was a chieftain from Norway, arriving in Iceland with his
family and dependents in 874. He built his farm in Reykjavík, the site
of the present capital. During the next 60 years or so viking settlers
from Scandinavia, bringing some Celtic people with them, spread their
homesteads over the habitable areas. In the year 930, at the end of the
Settlement period, a constitutional law code was accepted.
In the year 1000 Christianity was
peacefully adopted by the Icelanders at Alţingi, which met for two
weeks every summer, attracting a large proportion of the population. The
first bishopric was established at Skálholt in South Iceland in 1056,
and a second at Hólar in the north in 1106. Both became the country's
main centres of learning.
In the late tenth century Greenland was
discovered and colonized by Icelanders under the leadership of Eirik the
Red, and around the year 1000 Icelanders were the first Europeans to set
foot on the American continent, 500 years before Columbus, although
their attempts to settle in the New World failed.
In 1262-64 internal feuds, amounting to a
civil war, led to submission to the King of Norway and a new monarchial
code in 1271. When Norway and Denmark formed the Kalmar Union in 1397,
Iceland fell under the sovereignty of the King of Denmark. After the
"Golden Age" of Iceland's independence had ended , things went
from bad to worse. The Danish kings brought about the Reformation of the
Church in 1551, which resulted in Danish control over the Church, and
confiscation of its great wealth. They replaced the Hansa and English
trade with an oppressive Danish trade monopoly, and established absolute
monarchy in 1662, thus transferring all governing power to Copenhagen.
While this arrangement was very profitable for the Danish Crown, these
changes were disastrous for the Icelandic economy. Further problems
arose in the food supply due to cooling of the climate during the 16th
and 17th centuries.
The eighteenth century marked the most
tragic age in Iceland's history. In 1703, when the first complete census
was taken, the population was approximately 50,000, of whom about 20%
were beggars and dependents. From 1707 to 1709 the population sank to
about 35,000 because of a devastating smallpox epidemic. Twice more the
population declined below 40,000, both during the years 1752-57 and
1783-85, owing to a series of famines and natural disasters.
As a consequence of the plight of the
populace the trade monopoly was modified in 1783 and all subjects of the
Danish king given the right to trade in Iceland.
In 1843 Alţingi was reinstated as a
consultative assembly. In 1854 trade monopoly was abolished entirely. In
1874, when Iceland celebrated the millennium of the first settlement, it
received a constitution from the Danish king and control of its own
finances.
In 1904 Iceland got home rule and finally
in 1918 sovereignty, but was united with Denmark under the Danish crown.
In 1940 Iceland was occupied by British forces, which were replaced in
1941 by American troops by special agreement between the Icelandic and
American governments. Finally, on 17 June 1944, the Republic of Iceland
was formally proclaimed at Ţingvellir. The country is governed by the
Althing (parliament), whose members are elected every four years, along
with the president. President Olafur Ragnar Grimsson was elected in June
1996 to succeed Vigdis Finnbogadottir. The head of state plays no part
in day-to-day politics.
Iceland Vacation Packages |
