Le Nord : revue internationale des Pays de Nord - 01.06.1939, Page 119
CHRONIQUE TRIMESTRIELLE 111
but it is to be hoped that after all
it may contribute to spread know-
Ldge about the smallest and least
Populous Scandinavian nation.
At the exhibition Iceland will be
favourably placed in »The Hall of
Nations« quite close to the exhibi-
tion hall of the United States. In
front of the Icelandic exhibition hall
at the entrance from »Court of
Peace« on a conspicuous spot a sta-
tue will be set up of the Icelander
Leifur Eiríksson, who discovered the
North-American continent in the
year 1000, thus being the first white
man to tread on American earth. It
1S a duplicate of the statue of Leifur
Eiríksson which the Government of
the United States presented to Ice-
land on the occasion of the one
thousand year-jubilee of the Ice-
landic Parliament in 1930. In front
°I the exhibition building there is
also a statue, representing the Ice-
lander Thorfinnur Karlsefni, who
attempted colonisation in North-
America about the year 1007, but
who was expelled some few years
Lter by the Red Indians. The sta-
tUe is a duplicate of the statue by
Einar Jónsson, the Icelandic sculp-
t0r> which was erected at Philadel-
PLia in memory of Thorfinnur
Karlsefni’s colonial efforts.
The exhibition will comprise the
development of Icelandic civiliza-
t!On generally as well as the econo-
mie life and exports of the country.
Lhus an idea will be given of the
0rganization of the Icelandic state
Wlth its marked traditions of liber-
ty. The exhibition will illustrate
both the present democratic con-
stitution and the remarkably free
forms of administration during the
time of the free-state, when the Ice-
landic Parliament, the »Althing«,
was established more than a thou-
sand years ago. Furthermore infor-
mation will be given of Icelandic
civilization in modern times, school-
system and chief cultural institu-
tions, church, radio, press, etc.
It is characteristic of the Icelan-
ders’ zest for reading that more
books and magazines are published
in Iceland than in any other coun-
try in relation to the number of in-
habitants. The exhibition will also
show Iceland’s social and sanitary
conditions, and models will be dis-
played of some of Reykjavík’s im-
posing buildings, viz. the Univer-
sity and the National Theatre.
A special department will exemp-
lify Icelandic art. It includes paint-
ings, sculpture and literature, both
modern literature, which is gaining
increasing access to the worldlangu-
ages, and the old-Icelandic medieval
literature which occupies a promi-
nent place among classic European
literatures, besides being the main
source for acquiring insight into the
social, cultural and religious life of
the Germanic peoples in the Middle
Ages. The fac-simile edition of the
priceless Icelandic medieval manu-
scripts by the publishing firm of
Ejnar Munksgaard, will be one of
the exhibits.
On the background of Iceland’s