Iceland Tourist Attractions

ingvellir National Park IC

ingvellir was the site of the Aliing the annual parliament of Iceland from 930AD until the last session held at ingvellir in 1798AD. Since 1881 the parliament has been located within Alingishsi in Reykjavik. ingvellir is now a national park in the municipality of Blskgabygg in southwestern Iceland about 40 km northeast of Icelands capital Reykjavk. ingvellir is a site of historical cultural and geological significance and is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Iceland. The park lies in a rift valley that marks the crest of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and the boundary between the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates. To its south lies ingvallavatn the largest natural lake in Iceland. ingvellir National Park was founded in 1930 marking the 1000th anniversary of the Althing. The park was later expanded to protect the diverse and natural phenomena in the surrounding area and was designated as a World Heritage Site in 2004.

Geysir

Geysir sometimes known as The Great Geysir is a geyser in southwestern Iceland. It was the first geyser described in a printed source and the first known to modern Europeans. The English word geyser derives from Geysir. The name Geysir itself is derived from the Icelandic verb geysa the verb from Old Norse. Geysir lies in the Haukadalur valley on the slopes of Laugarfjall hill which is also the home to Strokkur geyser about 50 metres south. Eruptions at Geysir can hurl boiling water up to 70 metres in the air. However eruptions may be infrequent and have in the past stopped altogether for years at a time.

Hallgrmskirkja

Hallgrmskirkja is a Lutheran parish church in Reykjavk Iceland. At 74.5 meters tall it is the largest church in Iceland and among the tallest structures in the country. Known for its distinctively curved spire and side wings it has been described as having become an important symbol for Icelands national identity since its completion in 1986 The church is named after the Icelandic poet and cleric Hallgrmur Ptursson author of the Passion Hymns.

Harpa

Harpa is a concert hall and conference center in Reykjavk Iceland. The opening concert was held on May 4 2011. The building features a distinctive colored glass facade inspired by the basalt landscape of Iceland. Harpa was designed by the Danish firm Henning Larsen Architects in cooperation with Danish-Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson. The structure consists of a steel framework clad with geometric-shaped glass panels of different colors. The building was originally part of a redevelopment of the Austurhfn area dubbed World Trade Center Reykjavk which was temporarily abandoned when the 2008 Icelandic financial crisis took hold. The development was originally intended to include a 400-room hotel luxury apartments retail units restaurants a car park and the new headquarters of the Icelandic bank Landsbanki.

Keri

Keri is a volcanic crater lake located in the Grmsnes area in south Iceland along the Golden Circle. It is one of several crater lakes in the area known as Icelands Western Volcanic Zone which includes the Reykjanes peninsula and the Langjkull Glacier created as the land moved over a localized hotspot but it is the one that has the most visually recognizable caldera still intact. The caldera like the other volcanic rock in the area is composed of a red volcanic rock. The caldera itself is approximately 55 m deep 170 m wide and 270 m across. Keris caldera is one of the three most recognizable volcanic craters because at approximately 3000 years old it is only half the age of most of the surrounding volcanic features. The other two are Seyishlar and Kerhll. While most of the crater is steep-walled with little vegetation one wall is sloped more gently and blanketed with a deep moss and can be descended fairly easily. The lake itself is fairly shallow but due to minerals from the soil is an opaque and strikingly vivid aquamarine. Land owners charge an entrance fee to see the crater of 400 ISK.

Perlan

Perlan is a prominent landmark in the Icelandic capital of Reykjavk. It is situated on the top of Oskjuhlo hill. It was originally only a cluster of hot water tanks but in 1991 it was converted into a building open to the public and now hosts an exhibition a planetarium an observation deck a restaurant and a cafe. In 1939 a single hot water tank was constructed on skjuhl hill in Reykjavk where Perlan stands today. It is 61 meters above sea level which gives enough pressure to push water up to the 10th floor of a building 38 meters above sea level. That sufficed to supply water anywhere in Reykjavk even to the hill where Hallgrmskirkja church stands today. In the next two decades five more tanks rose beside the first one. They were torn down and rebuilt in the late eighties.

Sun Voyager

The Sun Voyager is a sculpture by Jn Gunnar rnason located next to the Sbraut road in Reykjavk Iceland. Sun Voyager is described as a dreamboat or an ode to the Sun. The artist intended it to convey the promise of undiscovered territory a dream of hope progress and freedom. The work is constructed of stainless steel and stands on a circle of granite slabs surrounded by so-called town-hall concrete. It was constructed in accordance with Arnasons enlarged full-scale drawing of Sun Voyager and was overseen by his assistant the artist Kristin E. Hrafnsson. The engineering of the sculpture was supervised by the technologist Sigurjn Yngvason in close cooperation with rnason himself and the construction was carried out by Reynir Hjlmtsson and his assistant.

Strokkur

Strokkur is a fountain-type geyser located in a geothermal area beside the Hvt River in Iceland in the southwest part of the country east of Reykjavk. It typically erupts every 610 minutes. Its usual height is 1520 metres although it can sometimes erupt up to 40 metres high.

National Museum Of Iceland

The National Museum of Iceland was established on 24 February 1863 with Jn rnason the first curator of the Icelandic collection previously kept in Danish museums. The second curator Sigurur Gumundsson advocated the creation of an antiquarian collection and the museum was called the Antiquarian Collection until 1911. Before settling at its present location at Suurgata 41 101 Reykjavk in 1950 it was housed in various Reykjavk attics finally for forty years in the attic of the National Library building on Hverfisgata. A key object in the permanent exhibition is the Valjfsstaur door a celebrated carving depicting a version of the Lion-Knight legend where a knight slays a dragon thus freeing a lion that becomes his companion.

Gufunesflatir

Gufunes is a historical estate and park for sculptures and artwork in northeastern Reykjavk. Today it lies within the Grafarvogur part of the city located to the southwest and south of Eidsvik Cove and Geldinganes Headland. It contains some 25 sculptures by Hallsteinn Sigursson amongst others.

Lgafellslaug

Lgafellslaug is a swimming pool in Mosfellsbr built-in 2007. Contracts were made with Nsi for the construction and operation of the pool but after bankruptcy new owners took over the operation.

Skógafoss

Hraunfossar

Hraunfossar is a series of waterfalls formed by rivulets streaming over a distance of about 900 metres out of the Hallmundarhraun a lava field which flowed from an eruption of one of the volcanoes lying under the glacier Langjkull. The waterfalls pour into Hvt from ledges of less porous rock in the lava. The name comes from the Icelandic word for lava and the word for waterfalls. The Hraunfossar are situated near Hsafell and Reykholt and the Vgelmir lava tube is close by. Literally a stones throw upstream from Hraunfossar there is another waterfall called Barnafoss. Its name the waterfall of the children comes from an accident which is said to have taken place here in former times. There was a natural bridge over the waterfall and two children from a nearby farm fell to their deaths crossing the river on the bridge. Afterwards the grief-struck mother had the bridge destroyed.