Reykjavík

Reykjavík (, in Icelandic, bay of smoke ) is the Capitale of the Iceland.

Presentation

Reykjavík is the most septentrional capital of the world. During a few weeks in Winter, light of day arrives only for four hours and at the beginning of be the nights do not exist. The city is located at 64° 04 ' of northern Latitude, very close to the Arctic Circle, in an abundant zone in hot sources. The site of the city is at the place even where the first colonists led by Ingólfur Arnarson settled. In 1786, the grouping of 302 inhabitants is the origin of the municipality of today. It is the most populated city country, more half of the population saw there (by counting the agglomeration, i.e. by adding Kópavogur and Hafnarfjörður).

Reykjavík is a center living commercial, political, industrial and cultural where are concentrated the political institutions, the libraries, the museums, the universities, the central offices of communication (radio, television and written press), the theaters and the orchestras, the courts of justice, the swimming pools discovered and the stages of sport, the maritime, air infrastructures and the transport companies collective, the factories of which canning facilities of poissons.
The Parliament (built in 1881) and the house of the Governments (dedicated to the mediators of the 18th century) are in the historical center of Reykjavík, between the port and the lake. They are close to the Bookstore and the National theater which are just behind a statue of the first colonisateur.
The University of Iceland and its student districts, the National museum and the Scandinavian House (designed by the famous Finnish architect Alvar Aalto) is gathered in a district with share.

The city has many churches, old and new, inter alia Cathedral of the Parliament and large the Hallgrímskirkja. The Folk Museum of Árbær, in one of the suburbs of the east, exhibe the old town hall of Reykjavík, reconstituted in its style original, but also a rural traditional church and one farm, both with roofs of Peat and Thatch.

One of the best salmon rivers short just through the sector Is capital. There is in the historical center a lake which according to the legend, decontaminated the city.

Geography

Reykjavík is located on the south-western margin of Iceland, in bay of Faxaflói. The coastal sector of Reykjavík is characterized by the presence of many Peninsula S, Split S, Strait S and small island S. most of the town of Reykjavík is located on the peninsula Seltjarnarnes, but the suburbs are extended to the south of this peninsula.

Thanks to the currents heat of the Gulf Stream, Reykjavík has an annual average temperature of 5 °C. The average temperature in January is of -0.4 °C and in July of 11,2 °C.

Reykjavík is a dispersed city; most of the sector urban in the shape of basic suburbs density arises and the dwellings are generally individual. The residential districts are them also spaced, separated by the main arteries from the city. This urban structure was created spontaneously, because of the tastes of the inhabitants modernes.

The river Elliðaá crosses the city. This important river is not navigable. The highest mountain in the vicinity of Reykjavík is the Mont Esja, with some 914 meters height.

Demography

The population of Reykjavík in 2007 is of 117.607; that is to say 58.680 men and 58.927 women. The population living the metropolis of Reykjavík in 2007 is of 195.301.

This metropolis consists of six municipalities (except Reykjavík):


History

874: regrouping

It is thought that the first Norwegian colonists arrived in zone of Reykjavík taken along by Ingólfur Arnarson during the year 874. This is written in the Landnámabók (the Book of Colonization). Since this book mentions vapor of a thermal source, and that the city received the name of Reykjavík, which in Icelandic means “Smoking Bay”.

1752: industrialization

Reykjavík is mentioned in no medieval source except as regular ground of farm but the 18th century was the beginning of the urban concentration. Towards the end of the period of absolutism, after centuries of exploitation by the Danes, of the Danish new rules applied to the Iceland supported ideas of a domestic industry in Iceland which helped to return in a progress so necessary to the island. In 1752, the king of Denmark gave the field of Reykjavík to the Innréttingar Corporations; the name comes from Danish (indretninger) and means companies. In the years 1750 several houses were built to place the industry of Laine which was to be the most important employer of Reykjavík for a few decades and the original reason of its existence. Other trades were also practiced by Innréttingar such as fishing, the exploitation of sulfur, the agriculture and the construction of boats.

1786: commercial charter

The Danish crown removed its monopoly trading in 1786 and granted to the six communities in the country an exclusive commercial charter, of which Reykjavík. It was the only one to respect the charter in a permanent way. 1786 is regarded as the date of the foundation of the city, it celebrated its 200 years in 1986. Rights commercial were still limited to the subjects of the Danish crown however and the Danish tradesmen continued to dominate the exchanges of Iceland and the surplus. During the following decades, their business in Iceland increased. After the installation of the free trade in 1880 for all nationalities, the influence of the Icelandic traders in the life of the businesses increased quickly.

1845: declared capital of Iceland

The nationalist movement with the idea of independent Iceland became extensive during the XIXe century. As Reykjavík was the only city of Iceland, it is over there that the people having these ideas met. The parties of the independence movement knew that Reykjavík should be strong to achieve this goal. The most important years of the independence fight are also important for the city. In 1845, the Althing, the General meeting that Icelandic had created in 930 was restored in Reykjavík, it had been suspended a few years and had been earlier placed at Þingvellir. Alþingi then achieved the functions of a Consultative Assembly, which suggested with the King the actions to be taken with regard to various problems of the country. The situation of Alþingi with Reykjavík had as a consequence which the city transformed indeed into capital of Iceland. In 1874, Iceland wrote its first Constitution and with it, Alþingi obtained the limited capacities Législatif S then is converted into the institution which we know. Then, it was necessary to give a capacity Exécutif to Iceland, and it obtained it thanks to the House of the Government in 1904 when it established the office of the Prime Minister in Reykjavík. February 1st 1918, the country passed from colony of the Danish Crown to known sovereign state under the name of Royaume of Iceland under the Crown of Denmark.

1918-1944: end of the occupation and creation of the republic

In the years 1920 with 1930, the industry of fishing was formed in Reykjavík, with like principal product the Morue. However, towards the end 1929 the Grande Depression struck the city and there were many conflicts between corporations of trade of which much finished violently.

In the morning of the May 10th 1940, four warships arrived at Reykjavík and anchored in the port while carrying peace to the population, since they were British and not German. In a few hours, the occupation Alliée was supplemented without violence. The Icelandic government had received British government a letter to prevent occupation, but this one had been always declined by Icelandic because they were politically neutral S. During the last years of the Second world war, the British soldiers and American built bases with Reykjavík. The number of foreign soldiers with Reykjavík was, at one moment, equivalent to the current population of the city.

The economic effects of the occupation were very positive for the city when the effects of the Great Depression attenuated and the important economic revival took place then. The British built the Aéroport of Reykjavík, and the United States built the International airport of Keflavík, to approximately 50 km. capital.

The June 17th 1944, Iceland is proclaimed independent republic and finally received its independence of the Denmark. A president elected by a popular vote replaced the King in his representative functions while the Prime Minister exerted the executive functions.

1950-1970: post-war period

In the years of the post-war period, the growth of Reykjavík was consolidated. The rural migration started to populate the city, due to the industrialization of the Agriculture which reduced the labor force of this sector and had with the improvement of the living conditions in Iceland which accelerated the demographic explosion. The migrants who went in Reykjavík were mainly young people who wanted to reach the “Dream of Reykjavík” and with time, the capital transformed themselves into true city of the children. The city planning changed in a very important way with construction of residential zones in the suburbs of the city.

In 1972, Reykjavík was the place where proceeded the world championship of Jeu of failures between Bobby Fischer and Boris Spassky.

1980-2000: a modern metropolis

In the two last decades, Reykjavík was converted into an important center of world community, at the top of 1986 the international statute of Reykjavík at summer underlined by Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev. The deregulation in the financial sector and the data-processing revolution of the Nineties transformed Reykjavík once again. Financial technology and the sector of information are now the significant employers of the city. The energetic city stimulated some famous talents of the world these last years like Björk, Sigur Rós or Amiina.

Administration

August 1st

Education

August 1st

Infrastructure

The city has some grand boulevards. It is crossed by the Nationale 1. As for public transport, it has a network of lines of bus connected rather well managed by the company Strætó bs..

In the middle of the city, close to small the Lac Tjörnin the airport National is. While the international airport is to approximately 45 km, not far from the small town of Keflavík.

Twinnings

Famous characters

Sports

The city counts many clubs of Football. Those gained the majority of the national titles. Among these clubs one can quote the Fram Reykjavík, the Fylkir Reykjavík, the KR Reykjavík, the Valur Reykjavík and the Víkingur Reykjavík.

External bonds

  • Official site of Reykjavík
  • Tourism in Reykjavík
  • Beautiful air sights of the city by an inhabitant impassioned
  • Seen of Reykjavík and on the whole of Iceland
  • Reykjavík: how to place, be restored, move in the Icelandic capital
  • the Councils of voyage and information on photographic Reykjavík
  • Blog " except clichés" on Reykjavík
  • the Museum Phallologique
  • Official site of the book REYKJAVIK 64°08N 21°54W of the Friendly photographer Sioux
  • Gallery of images of Iceland by one impassioned

Be-X-old: Рэйк'явік Simple: Reykjavík

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