Iceland review - 2014, Qupperneq 6

4 ICELAND REVIEW
Iceland has changed more than any other european
country in the last one hundred years. When farmer
and former Minister of Culture and education Vilhjálmur
hjálmarsson was born in 1914 in Mjóifjörður in the east
fjords, see page 18. At that time 420 people lived in the
fjord. now, a hundred years later, the population is 24
and has halved in the last decade.
A hundred years ago, more than half of the population
of Iceland lived in turf houses. now none. It’s a pity,
they’re so beautiful, and not only part of our culture but
part of world heritage.
A few distinct features set the turf houses of Iceland
apart from those found in other countries. the
prevalence of walls made mainly from turf is one
feature, and the fact that the interior of the turf houses
was often a timber construction is another. the passage
farmhouse is also a unique design, where the passage
between houses is a separate, covered construction.
Iceland stands out in this respect, as the turf building
technique was used for all social classes and for all
types of buildings: homes, stables, stately residences,
churches, see page 26.
today, three out of four Icelanders live in the capital
region, which has a single turf house: the árbær turf
church.
one hundred years ago, there were hardly any
foreigners living in Reykjavík, with the exception of a
handful of high ranking Danes (Iceland was at that
time a Danish colony). today the capital is a vibrant
multicultural city, with residents from well over one
hundred nations, see page 20.
We don’t even need to go one hundred years back
to see some of the really big changes in Icelandic
society. Just 36 years ago, the front page of the daily
Dagur ran the big headline: Negri í Þistilfirði (‘Black
person in Þistilfjörður’). the news story was about a
32-year-old farmer from Ghana, who was learning
some tricks of the trade in sheep farming in the winter
of 1978, at the farm Gunnarsstaðir in langanesbyggð,
northeast Iceland.
langanesbyggð is the remotest municipality in
Iceland, with a population of 531, see page 72. today,
people of ten different nationalities live in the
community: Iceland, poland, thailand, estonia,
holland, the U.S., Bulgaria, Denmark, Germany and
Zimbabwe.
Páll Stefánsson
ps@icelandreview.com
ANNUAL SUBSCriPtioN (WorLdWide) USd 50 or equivalent in other currencies.
The publisher assumes no responsibility for unsolicited material. Submissions should be accompanied by a self-addressed envelope
and an international money order to cover postage, if return is required. No articles in this magazine may be reproduced elsewhere
in whole or in part without the permission of the publisher. ISSN 0019-1094. Iceland Review (ISSN:0019-1094) is published
five times per year by Heimur hf. in Iceland and distributed in the USA by SPP 75 Aberdeen Road Emigsville PA 17318-0437.
Periodicals postage paid at Emigsville PA. POSTMASTER: send address changes to Iceland Review P.O. BOX 437 Emigsville PA
17318-0437.
Head Office
Heimur hf.
Borgartún 23, 105 Reykjavík, Iceland
Tel: (+354) 512 7575
icelandreview@icelandreview.com
Printed in Iceland by Oddi
editor
Páll Stefánsson
dePUtY editorS & WeB editorS
eygló Svala Arnarsdóttir
Zoë robert
deSiGN & ProdUCtioN
erlingur Páll ingvarsson
CoNtriBUtiNG
WriterS
Alëx elliott
Benný Sif Ísleifsdóttir
edward hancox
margrét hallgrímsdóttir
CoNtriBUtiNG
PhotoGrAPherS
Annie Atkins
Árni Sæberg
Áslaug Snorradóttir
Geir Ólafsson
Jóhannes Frank
rAX
Zoë robert
CoNtriBUtiNG iLLUStrAtor
megan herbert

CoPY editor
Alëx elliott
ProoFreAder
Julie ingham
SUBSCriPtioNS
dagbjört oddný mattíasdóttir
dagbjortm@icelandreview.com
CoLor ProdUCtioN
Páll Kjartansson
AdVertiSiNG SALeS
Sigrún edda eðvarðsdóttir
Sunna mist Sigurðardóttir
sunna@icelandreview.com
Sverrir h. Geirmundsson
PUBLiSher
Benedikt Jóhannesson
Advertising Sales sunna@icelandreview.com
For daily news from Iceland:
icelandreview.com
Iceland
RevIew
atlantIca
From the editor
p
h
o
to
B
y
R
A
X
.
Exclusive houses in the northwest of Iceland
Details and booking www.vrbo.com
∙ 1 bedroom
∙ 1 bathroom
∙ sleeps 2 (4)
A loft apartment
with incredible views of the fjord
Fnjóská Nollur
∙ 3 bedrooms
∙ 2 bathrooms
∙ sleeps 6
A spacious, luxurious house
at the shore
Vallholt Grenivik
∙ 3 bedrooms
∙ 3 bathrooms
∙ sleeps 6
An exclusive villa
opposite Akureyri
Hrafnabjörg Akureyri
∙ 1 bedroom
∙ 1 bathroom
∙ sleeps 4
A wonderful holiday house at
Nollur located in the Eyafjord
Súlur Nollur
∙ 2 bedrooms
∙ 1 bathroom
∙ sleeps 6
A spacious, luxurious house
with a lot of natural wood
Kaldbakur Nollur
Krýsuvík Nollur
A convenient loft apartment at
Nollur located in the Eyafjord
∙ 2 bedrooms
∙ 1 bathroom
∙ sleeps 4
RZ2_Nollur_Add_Iceland-Rev_220x260_07-2014.indd 1 16.07.14 06:17