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Home , 790s, History of Iceland, History of the North Sea, Invasion of Iceland, Moscow Summit (1988)

Lecture 2: and the

Craig Benjamin, GVSU. WCC Spring 2020 Our Four-Lecture Program

Lect 1: Big History of the North Atlantic, and

Lect 2: Iceland and the Vikings Lect 3: Big History of the Faroe and Islands Lect 4: A Little Big History of and the end of the Vikings Lecture Two: Iceland • In geological terms, Iceland is a young island, erupting out of the sea less than 20 MYA • For most of its history Iceland uninhabited by humans • Changed in 874 CE when Viking explorers from and Britain discovered and quickly settled the island • Lecture unfolds the from its geological origins through to the twenty-first century, including its complex relations with neighboring Scandinavian nations • Also introduces the Icelandic ports and their landscapes that we will visit over the next four days of the cruise A: LBH of Iceland B: Rethinking the Vikings C. Our Icelandic Ports Part A: Little Big History of Iceland

Geothermal map of Iceland. High- temperature fields inside the active volcanic zone are shown as red circles, and hot and warm springs as yellow circles

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Benedikt_Steingrimsson/publ ication/228473661/figure/fig2/AS:302023254790158@1449019363 916/Geothermal-map-of-Iceland • Iceland is literally a country in the making • Geological forces are working constantly – geysers gush, mudpots gloop, volcanoes erupt, tectonic forces are constantly on the move • At the same time Arctic gales sweep across the island, the seas rush into deep , and glaciers grind their way across the island • It is hard to visit Iceland and not be deeply moved by the forces of nature at work • Located in North Atlantic close to , between and Norway • Area is 40,000 sq. miles (same as , Kentucky, Virginia) • 18th largest island in the world

• Coastline is 3000 miles long • Iceland maintains a contentious 200-mile exclusive economic zone Location and

Dimensions http://ultimatehistoryproject.com/uploads/3/5/0/1/ 35012707/7968430.png?478 Formation of Iceland • One of the youngest landmasses on planet, so inevitably home to some of the world’s most active volcanoes • Formed because of a major volcanic fissure in the Mid Atlantic Ridge (that separates American and Eurasian tectonic plates) • Fissure known as the Iceland Plume • This probably caused the formation of Iceland, which first started emerging from the sea 16-18 MYA • Iceland still growing at rate of 5cms pa today as new land is created Tectonic plate separation in Thingvellir where tectonic New land is formed here every year! plates meet (wikimediacommons) Bridge between American and Eurasian Tectonic Plates!

https://c7.alamy.com/comp/H20B58/iceland-reykjanes- bridge-between-continents-mid-atlantic-ridge-H20B58.jpg Thingvellir Fissure and Landscape

Pic. C. Benjamin Strolling between two tectonic plates on left – Eurasia on right

Pic. C. Benjamin • As well as major NS tectonic MAR, Iceland also has two parallel rift zones • These connect to the active Western Volcanic zone (WVRZ) and Eastern Volcanic Zone (EVRZ) • Connection between these two Zones is made by the Iceland Seismic Zone, an area of high earthquake activity

Tectonic Structure

https://notendur.hi.is/mcc1/tectonics.html • Eruption of (crater below) in 1783 was devastating • Killed over 6 million people globally; one of deadliest eruptions in history • Spewing of sulfur dioxide into the atmosphere led to a drop in global temperatures, resulting in crop failures in and droughts in • Resulting famines killed 25% of human population!

Volcanic Eruption

By Chmee2/Valtameri - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, of 1783 https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=8113124 • 1963-67 new island of Surtsey appeared out of the sea as a result of an undersea eruption • 2010 Eylafjallakokull eruption caused massive disruption to European air travel (pictured) • 2011 Grimsvotn volcano erupted • Aug 2014-Feb 2015 Huluhraun eruption produced a massive lava field (86 sq. kms)

Recent Eruptions By Boaworm - Own work, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=10056072 Plenty of geothermal activity at Geysir National Park

Pic. C. Benjamin Pic. C. Benjamin Topography

http://s.embark.org/0.9.0/media/820x400/Iceland/images/hvannadalshnukur- Iceland’s highest mountain: Hvannadaslshnjkuriceland.jpg 2,119 mtrs (6852 ft) • 11% of Iceland is covered in glaciers (12,000 sq kms in area) • Vatnajokull (below) is largest glacier in Europe • Many glaciers overlay active volcanoes so always danger of meltwater floods known as jokulhlaups • All glaciers are in retreat; Vatnajokull has lost 10% of volume

Huge (but shrinking) Glaciers!

https://d3hne3c382ip58.cloudfront.net/files/uploads/bookmundi/resized/cms featured/the-vatnajokull-glacier-in-iceland-1500454494-785X440.jpg Gullfoss Glacier behind Mountains

Pic. C. Benjamin Magnificent Gullfoss Pic. C. Benjamin • Iceland is the least populated country in Europe • 80% of country is uninhabitable (glaciers, mountains, geysers, waterfalls, Climate black sand beaches etc)

• Climate surprisingly mild because of Gulf Stream (but also affected by East Greenland polar current flowing SE around north and east coasts) • Summer temps in Reykjavik average 51-76 degrees F; winter 32-50 F https://www.mountainguides.is/blog/iceland’s-climate-moves-with-the-gulf-stream-flow/ Iceland Vegetation

• There are a number of small trees on Iceland (ash, aspen, birch and willow) but no forests • Major types of vegetation are grasses, mosses and small shrubs, including heather, willow and dwarf birch • Naturalists have identified 340 different species of flowers, but these are very sparse Top: Lupine, introduced in 1945 Middle: Norwegian Angelica Bottom: Moss Campion (spring flower)

http://exviking.net/iceland/vegetation.htm • Arctic Fox chief indigenous animal of Iceland • Reindeer introduced 18th C • Initially abundant, then almost extinct, now protected mostly in the NE highlands

Iceland Fauna Arctic Fox Center, Isafjordur

Pic. P. Benjamin Iceland Waters

• Seas around Iceland abound in marine species – whales, dolphins, seals, wide variety of fish, even leatherback turtles • , haddock and herring abundant, also sole, shark, halibut • Salmon and trout abound in rivers and lakes http://www.whalesafari.is/blog/2015/8/24/noise-in-the-ocean Iceland Birds

• Almost 90 different species of breeding birds have been identified, mostly aquatic • Most common birds are eider duck (raised commercially for their down) and ptarmigan • Estimated 8 million puffins live on Iceland! • Swan, eagle, falcon, and gannet are all rare and protected • Iceland has no reptiles or frogs, and very few insects https://ww2.rspb.org.uk/community/wildlife/f/13609/t/100345.aspx Part B: Vikings Revisited

Hinguar and Hubba setting out to avenge their father Lothbrok wikimediacommons.com • Term Viking first appears in Old English in • Used just three times in an Anglo-Saxon Chronicle; each time it means ‘robbers’ • Vikings also called by other names – pagans, heathens, guill (foreigners), Northmani, Dani, pirates What did they call themselves? • Vikings did not self-identify according to national or state polities • Instead referred to themselves as ‘Followers of Olaf’ or ‘Followers of Cnut’, although they all spoke the same language • Later called themselves Dane (those of Southern Scandinavian origin) or Norse (those of Northern Scandinavian origin)

Snow cover across ,

By Image courtesy Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team at as imaged by MODIS on board NASA GSFC - Moderate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), NASA's Terra satellite in 2002 • Reappears in 11th C Old Norse Chronicles – vikingar used to emphasize the ferocity of Cnut’s troops • But same term also appears on 11th C runes to describe respectable sons who went raiding overseas • By 13th C it was used in Icelandic Sagas to describe pirates • Came into common usage in Western European sources in the • Recorded in modern English for the first time in 1807; then used by Sir Walter Scott in his 1828 novel ‘The Pirates’ Evolution of Term Viking One of the few surviving manuscript leaves from the Heimskringla Sagas written by Snorn By National and University Library of Iceland - http://handrit.is/en/manuscript/view/is/LbsFragm-0082, Public Domain, Sturluson c. https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=26932702 1260 • No agreement amongst linguists on etymology: • Perhaps derived from a common Germanic verb meaning ‘to leave, withdraw, depart’? • Or from Old Icelandic vik (bay or creek)? • Refers to a group from region of Viken near Oslo (below) who started raiding to escape Danish hegemony? • Or from Norse vika (oarsman); Old English vikya (to turn aside); or wic (armed camp?

Etymology?

By Erik A. Drabløs - Own work, CC BY-SA 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=828522 • Again, little agreement here • Start can no longer be dated to raid on in 793 because there is now evidence of earlier contact, including older Irish and English artifacts found in Norwegian graves • Swedes had also been raiding in the Baltic much earlier • And in southern Scandinavia many developments often associated with Age of Vikings had appeared during early 8th C – market , increased manufacturing, towns, overseas contacts

Chronology?

By Pinpin - own work made with inkscape from Image:Vikings-Voyages.png and Image:Worldmap wdb combined.svg, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3484559 Key Dates in Expansion

Raiding activity intensified in from 830s; Viking camp established in Dublin 841 • Attacks on Frankia and 850s; settlement in Russia started in 860s • From 870s Vikings were permanently settled in England, Scotland, Faroes, Iceland • Greenland settled in 980s; around 1000 voyages were undertaken to Vinland and North America End of the ?

• Difficult to find an end date too • Brits affix this to key dates in English history • Eg 1042 when , last Scandinavian king of England died wikimediacommons • Or 1066 when Haraldr Hardrada was defeated by Harold at Stamford Bridge (pictured, Hardrada with battleaxe) • But Viking presence continued in Scotland and well beyond • And Viking culture persisted in Greenland and Iceland into 15th C, and even to the present day Early Scandinavian Kingdoms

Bronze Age petroglyphs from Häljesta, Västmanland in ). Composite image.

CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=469453 • Today Danes, Norwegians and Swedes trace their national origins to Viking Age • Scandinavia makes up 12% of total European landmass; but Scandinavians only 3% of current European population (17 million) • Centralized power appeared in Denmark in particular in 7th/8th Cs (we have names of several kings) • Norway was unified in 880s by Haraldr Finehair; succeeded by his infamous son Erik Bloodaxe in 930 • Sweden only unified in 11th/12th Cs after a long struggle between rulers of north and south Early Scandinavian Religion • Pre-Christian Scandinavians believed that their destinies were fixed and this could not be changed • According to Norse Mythology the world would come to an end at Ragnarok when all humans and gods would be killed and burnt • Vikings had a fluid sense of the boundary between this world and the next (and between animals and humans) • Below: Ragnarok carved motif found at Heysham, Britain, 1908

By W.G. Collingwood (1854 - 1932) - The Elder or Poetic ; commonly known as Sæmund's Edda. Edited and translated with introduction and notes by Olive Bray. Illustrated by W.G. Collingwood (1908) Page 276. Digitized by the Internet Archive and available from https://archive.org/details/elderorpoeticedd01brayuoft • Many classes of supernatural beings in Norse mythology. Two families of gods: • Aesir included and • Vanir included Njord and • Also servants to the gods including Valkyries, Odin’s raven, and giants, dwarves, elves, trolls and ghosts • Sorcery (similar to shamanistic practices) fundamental to Viking beliefs

Odin and Fenrir, Freyr and Surt, painting by Emil By Doepler, Emil. ca. 1905. Walhall, die Götterwelt der Germanen. Martin Oldenbourg, Berlin. Page 55. Photographed and cropped by User:Haukurth., Public Domain, Doepler 1905 https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5210175 Sacred Spaces • Most rituals took place in open spaces and sacred groves; some of these may have been rearranged • A 10th C archaeological site on Froson Island in Sweden revealed remains of a deliberately felled and burnt birch tree, with a large animal bone assemblage around its roots • Included bodies of 5 bears, heads of 6 elks and 2 stags, remains of sheep, pigs and cows http://www.wikiwand.com/en/Norse_rituals A goði leads the people in sacrificing to an idol of Thor, painting by J.L. Lund, 1890 Conversion to

During the of Norway, King Olaf ordered men who would not convert to be tied and left on a skerry at ebb, resulting in a protracted death by drowning and the securing of Christian By Book: Snorre Sturlason - Heimskringla, J.M. Stenersen & Co, 1899., Public Domain, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=164917 hegemony in the Norwegian kingdom.

• Traditionally conversion took place under royal direction • First in Denmark under Harald Bluetooth in 965 • Later in Norway under Olaf Tryggvason in 995 • Finally in Sweden under Olaf Skotkonung in 1008 • But research suggests conversion was a long process that took several centuries before final royal proclamations, which kings used to legitimize their power • Archaeological discoveries of boats over past 50 years have confirmed that Vikings were great seafarers, but picture is complicated • Wide range of vessel types and investments in boat design and decoration, depending on whether purpose was to raid or trade • Evolved from Saxon and Frisian rowing boats to specialist vessel classes including military

Viking The Oseberg ship at Kulturhistorisk Museum Oslo Vessels www.commons.wikimedia.org Navigation

• Navigation depended upon currents, landmarks and the stars • A simple bearing dial dependent on sun sightings would have allowed sailing due east or west along a bearing (although Sun would not always have cooperated in North Atlantic!)

https://phys.org/news/2013-04-errors-viking-sun-compass-hint.html Image: Russell Kaye/Sandra-Lee Phipps/Getty • No single reason for this, and motives changed over time • Competition for scarce resources in the face of population growth must have been a critical factor • But so also was the idea of raiding to increase personal wealth, and the search for new land Causes of Viking Expansion? • Historians argue whether Vikings were primarily raiders or traders, but distinction not that meaningful • Status in gift economy depended upon acquiring Raiders portable wealth • In early Viking Age or shortage of such portable wealth a powerful motive for overseas expeditions Traders • If gifts were not provided through tribute or trade, they were taken by force

Viking Silver Horde found in Sweden Photo: C. Benjamin Land Acquisition

http://www.bbc.co.uk/guides/zcpf34j

• Later, as gift exchanged declined in importance, ownership of land became more important for Viking elites • Land and estates became main sources of wealth and power for Viking lords • So Viking expeditions evolved to the acquisition of new places to settle • In North Atlantic there was plenty of vacant land; but in Britain and Western Europe this meant taking land by force that was already occupied Europe on the Eve of Viking Invasions

By Bukkia (talk · contribs) - Own work based on: Europe 814.jpg, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=9291894 Raids on Western Europe

• First recorded raids date to late-8th C; pattern of how to do this established early • Unprotected coastal and riverine sites (incl. and markets) were early targets of small bands of Vikings in usually 2 or 3 ships • Northumbrian monasteries and Carolingian markets attacked in 790s • First Irish raid in 795; inland raids from 830 • South coast of England devastated 834-8

Vikings depicted invading England. Illuminated illustration from 12th C Miscellany on the Life of St. Edmund (Pierpont Morgan Library)

Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=293038 Vikings in

• In 841 Vikings ravaged Rouen • 845 attack on Paris only prevented by payment of 7000 lbs of silver! • But Charles the Bald built fortified bridges across the Seine and defensive systems for towns and abbeys, forcing Vikings to focus on England Vikings Settle in Britain

• Vikings settled permanently in England in 850 • People agreed to pay them Danegeld from 865 in return for being left in peace http://www.tartanday-wa.org/Vikings.html Eastwards Expansion • Swedish Vikings were active in the great river systems of Russia (Don, Dnieper, Volga) from 860s • They used overland portage to get from one river to another, to eventually gain access to the Black and Caspian Seas

• Still no agreement on whether they came as raiders or traders • The Vikings stimulated and expanded trade throughout Russia and became key traders (but perhaps at sword point?) Vikings and Iceland

• Legend is that Iceland was first settled in 874 by a Norse Viking party led by Ingolfr Arnarsson • Migrants left Norway to escape the tyranny of Haradr Finehair • He tossed a wooden post into the sea and followed it until it washed ashore at what is today Reykjavik • At end of settlement period, in 930 an open-air assembly (Althingi) was held at Thingvellir • claim this was the first democratic in Nineteenth-century depiction of a the world! session of the Althingi wikimediacommons.com Althingi Site at Thingvellir

Where the Lawgiver Stood

Pic. C. Benjamin led by Ingolfr Arnarsson landing in Iceland. Painting by Oscar Bergeland (1909). wikimediacommons.com Possible remains of Ingolfr Arnarsson’s house in Reykjavik

Pic. C. Benjamin How it would have looked when completed

Pic. C. Benjamin DNA Evidence

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Hera-photo-by-kyle-cassidy.jpg • In reality Iceland is closer to Scotland than Norway, so some of the first settlers came from the • Modern DNA studies show that 20% of Icelandic gene pool is from Irish Sea region • 75% of male DNA is Scandinavian; but only 37.5% of female • So first colonists may have been Norse men with Irish wives and slaves • Attachment of Icelanders to a Viking cultural identity is a result of later nationalistic creation myths • Most archaeologists today believe settlement began before 870 • Rapid and aggressive colonization occurred 890-900 leading to drastic reduction in birch cover and increase in grasses • Settlers chopped down trees to build dwellings, and created pasture for cattle and sheep

Environmental Impact of Colonization

Introduced herds of horses grazing in western Iceland Landscape following early settlement

Pic. C. Benjamin • 13th C Book of Settlements gives name and histories of c. 400 early settlers • Mentions 598 homesteads and all but 11 of these have been identified around coastline • By 11th C pop. had reached 40-100,000 • Medieval Icelandic society comprised several hundred powerful farmers controlling large numbers of people bound to their estates • Land ownership remained basis of economic and political power

Landmanabok By National and University Library of Iceland, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=18603451 Environmental Disaster • Historians today see Viking colonization of Iceland as an environmental disaster • 60% of original vegetation cover was destroyed by woodland clearing and over grazing, leading to devastating soil erosion • At the same time much of North Atlantic was in the grip of the Little , which led to severe stress on entire Viking cultural system • New systems of agricultural cooperation appeared to replace former estate system

CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=466264 Post-Viking History of Iceland

19th C Iceland Fishing Village, by Auguste Mayer, 1836

By Auguste Mayer - Íslandsmyndir Mayers 1836, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4043146 • In 13th C internal disputes weakened Iceland, which was subjugated by Norway • From 1397-1523 all the Nordic states were united as the • But once this collapsed Iceland came under Danish control • Subsequent Danish-Icelandic Trade monopoly of 17th-18th Cs was not good for Iceland’s economy • By 18th C Iceland was impoverished and depopulated World Wars

HMS Berwick led the British in 1941

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b9/HMS_Berwick_%2865%29.jpg • In 18th C Iceland was still under Danish hegemony; led to emergence of an Icelandic nationalist movement • was restored in 1844, and after WWI Iceland gained sovereignty (but acknowledged Danish monarchy) • Iceland was neutral in WWII, but was peacefully invaded and occupied by British and US troops • In 1944 Iceland declared full independence from Denmark, and after the war joined the UN and NATO • In March (b. 1931) emerged as the fourth General Secretary of the Communist Party of the in three years • He was chosen by the Party apparatus, and had no democratic credentials, yet he was also the first Soviet leader to be untainted by the Stalin era • He was also friendly, intelligent and spoke without notes

Margaret Thatcher www.peoples.ru/state/ king/russia declared: “Here was a man we can Iceland and do business the with”! Early Months

• Gorbachev’s early months in office were spent in reshuffling the Politburo, in the ritual denunciation of previous leaders, and in a campaign against corruption • The style of Soviet leadership had obviously changed, and the world waited to see if the content would change with it • Gorbachev seemed to have most room to maneuver in foreign policy, so it was assumed he would soon make a move on East-West relations

www.inch.com • Talks were scheduled Reykjavik between Reagan and Gorbachev at Reykjavik in Iceland for December 1987 ! • In the middle of the talks Gorbachev suddenly proposed a sensational 50% cut in all nuclear weapons • Reagan was taken by surprise, but the treaty on the reduction of Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces was signed • It appeared as though Gorbachev was intent upon stopping the Cold Reagan and Gorbachev meet in Reykjavik, War in its tracks! Iceland, December 1987 www.reagan.utexas.edu/ • Gorbachev’s strategy was first to try and defuse the Cold War climate of fear and hatred upon which the old system had thrived • And then to move on to the even more difficult area of internal reform • On the external front he was brilliantly successful, being hailed like a conquering hero on visits to the USA and West , and welcoming President Reagan to Moscow • But his internal reforms of perestroika and glasnost resulted ultimately in the collapse of the USSR! Gorbachev’s Strategy

The Reagans leaving after the Moscow Summit, 6/2/88 http://abcnews.go.com/Archives/video/reagan-arrives-moscow-summit-10147715 Reagan in Moscow www.reagan.utexas.edu Hofdi House in Reykjavik where the Gorbachev/Reagan Summit took Place

Pic. C. Benjamin Statue of Icelandic poet Einar Benediktsson (1864 -1940) who lived in the house in early 20th C

Pic. C. Benjamin View from beach opposite the house

Pic. C. Benjamin Iceland Today

• Pop. 340,000 (13% born elsewhere) • 8% are foreign citizens, mostly Poles • Area 39,682 sq. miles = 8 inhabitants per sq. mile • 2/3 of pop. Live in Reykjavik – 225K • GDP $20 bill. US; per capita $47K • Average Icelander lives to 83, has 2 kids, drinks 18 lbs of coffee pa! • 10% will publish a book?? • So far -- History of Iceland from origins to 20th C • And rethinking the Age of the Vikings • Now finally our four Icelandic ports!

Part C: Our Icelandic Ports

• Seyðisfjörður a town in eastern Iceland at the head of a of the same name • Single road over a high mountain pass connects Seyðisfjörður to the rest of Iceland • Town is surrounded by mountains with the most prominent Mt. Bjólfur to the west (1085m) and Strandartindur (1010m) to the east • The fjord itself is accessible on each side from the town • Further out the fjord is remote but rich with natural resources including Puffin and the ruins of earlier settlements SEYĐISFJORĐUR̈

Zuiderdam berthed at Seydisfjordur Harbor; and Gufufoss, near Seyðisfjörður https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a6/Seyðisfjörður.7.jpg Dramatic Landscape above the Fjord

Pic. C. Benjamin Looking Inland

Pic. C. Benjamin

Church in Seyðisfjörður

Pic. C. Benjamin Known as ‘capital of Northern Iceland’; major port and fishing nd Aerial view of the fjord and ice-free harbor center; 2 largest urban area • Settled in 9th C but not chartered until 1786 Akureyri in the late • Housed allied troops during WWII • Relatively mild climate because of Gulf Stream • Ice-free harbor makes it a very important port

By Sigfús Eymundsson (1837 - 1911) - Scanned from "Þór Magnússon (1976). Ljósmyndir Sigfúsar Eymundssonar Almenna bókafélagið, Reykjavík." page 107., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2536161 Sailing into Akureyri, 6.00 am

Pic. C. Benjamin On the Whale Watching Boat

Pic. C. Benjamin Pic. C. Benjamin Pic. C. Benjamin Leaving Akureyri, 9.00 pm

Pic. C. Benjamin By Aron ingi at English Wikipedia - Self-photographed, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1126796 • Means fjord of ice – coldest part of Iceland at sea level (tundra climate) • Located in the dramatic Westfjord peninsula NW Iceland • Oldest part is located on a sand spit in Skutulsfjordur (right) • Sweeping beaches, bird colonies, cliffs tower above deep water ISAFJ́ ORĐUR̈ fjords • According to Landnambok first settled by single family in 9th C • Danish trading post established here in 18th C – oldest collection of timber frame dwellings in Iceland

By Christian Bickel fingalo - Own work, CC BY-SA 2.0 de, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7309058 Sailing into Isafjordur, 6.00 am Pic. C. Benjamin Old Hospital Pic. C. Benjamin I wanted to climb this mountain

Pic C. Benjamin From my highpoint

Pic C. Benjamin Pic C. Benjamin REYKJAVIḰ

By Sigfús Eymundsson (1837 - 1911) - Scanned from "Þór Magnússon (1976). Ljósmyndir Sigfúsar Eymundssonar Almenna By Bjørn Giesenbauer - https://www.flickr.com/photos/giesenbauer/2072569810/in/set- bókafélagið, Reykjavík." page 13., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2543330 72157609191391650/, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7192060 • Capital and largest city of Iceland; world’s most northerly capital • Located in SW Iceland on shore of Faxa Bay; pop. 125,000 in city, 225,000 in municipality • According to legend, this was the first settlement in Iceland made by Ingolfur Arnarson in 874 (1860s Reykjavik above left) • Today among the cleanest, greenest and safest cities in the world, with colorful buildings, snowcapped mountains and churning ocean! City skyline from coastal track

Pic C. Benjamin Cathedral Exterior and Interior

Pic C. Benjamin All of Reykjavik’s energy comes from geothermal power

Pic C. Benjamin Leifr Eiricsson Statue

We will come back to Leifr and his North American in our final lecture!

Pic C. Benjamin Ready for Iceland? Thank You!

Next time we explore the rich natural and of the remote island groups of the Faroes and , including the role of the Vikings. But for now … Royalty Free Music: https://www.bensound.com