Thingvellir Historic National Assembly Site
Thingvellir Historic National Assembly Site
As you walk up or down the main rift of Almannagja at Þingvellir, a flagpole marks the spot where the Alþingi or general assembly gathered for the first time in 930AD. The law speaker would recite Icelandic law and announce the decisions made at the assembly from the Logberg (the ‘law rock’).
Attending the sessions were the chieftains who numbered 36 (later 39) and often the farmers who supported them.
For an entirely rural society, the assembly was an important social event, in which news from abroad could be exchanged and alliances between families formed and marriages arranged.
Once Iceland came under Norwegian legislative power in 1262, and later under Denmark in the 14th century, its power gradually diminished. Many key events in Iceland's history took place at Þingvellir and you can read about them in the Icelandic Sagas.
Court proceedings were held there until 1798 when severe earthquakes led to the site being abandoned for safety reasons. In 1844 the assembly reconvened in Reykjavik.
When the Republic of Iceland was founded on 17 June 1944, the historic moment was celebrated at Þingvellir. Lögberg is reached via a boardwalk, flanked by information panels and offers a good view over the assembly site towards the river.