11-15 August, 24 August - 4 September, 2025
Iceland was an unoccupied island until the Vikings came in the late 9th Century. In 930 CE they formed the world's first Parliament, the Althing, at Thingvellir, where local chieftains gathered annually to elect leaders and hash out disagreements.
Thingvellir
24 August
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| Thingvellir (Þingvellir) is on the mid-Atlantic rift. |
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| Looking down the rift towards the "Law Rock", where the Althing (Alþingi) was held in a natural amphitheater. |
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| Across the river is a large plain. The five houses serve as the prime minister's summer residence, along with space for the park manager and the church priest. |
Traditional Houses (Sod Huts and Sod Roofs)
14 August
The original settlers quickly ran out of trees to use for construction and fuel, so sod huts became the standard. Additionally, the sod huts withstood the harsh Icelandic winters better than wooden structures.
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| The protected archaeological site at Stöng is a 14th Century farmstead. |
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| The farmstead has been re-created at the Commonwealth Farm (Þjóðveldisbærinn) in nearby Thjorsardalur (Þjórsárdalur). |
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| A closer look at the sod walls. |
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| Traditional loom. |
31 August
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| A stone-and-sod hut in the West Fjords. |
Churches
Churches were generally of three types: the oldest were sod structures, most were classic country churches - white with red roofs, and a few modern show-piece concrete churches. Today most churches are community centers, in addition to worship centers, where meetings and performances are held.
14 August
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| The church at Commonwealth Farm is a turf-and-timber structure. |
30 August
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| Grafarkirkja is another turf-and-timber church in north Iceland near Hofsós, on Skagafjörður. |
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| Grafarkirkja's circular enclosure contains a cemetery as well as the church. |
30 August
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| The cathedral at Hólar may be the most historically important church in Iceland. It was the seat of the last Catholic bishop in Iceland, as well as the site where the Bible was first translated into Icelandic. |
30 August
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| A church along the shore of Kollafjörður in the West Fjords. |
2 September
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| The church in Flateyri. |
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| The Flateyri church is known for its stained glass windows. (I liked the reflection, so I didn't include the whole set of windows here.) |
4 September
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| The church in Stykkisholmur is an example of a modern concrete structure. Akureyri and Reykjavik also have noted modern churches. |
Hólar
30 August
The village of Hólar is known for more than just a historical church. It is an education center, as well the site of the first printing press in Iceland. Today, the agricultural college has expanded to a small university (Hólakóli - Hólar University College). The Historical Center of the Icelandic Horse is located in here. The Hólar History Trail points to and explains several sites in the town.
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| Auðunarstofa is a replica of the original bishop's house. It is now the bishop's office, not residence. |
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| Nýibær (New House) was a farmhouse built in the mid-1800s to replace a decaying original structure. It is now maintained as a museum. |
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| Except for a few windows and chimneys, Nýibær looks like a mound of sod. |
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| The workroom in Nýibær. |
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| The cooking area in Nýibær. |
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