Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
1
ICELANDIC PEOPLE POWER
Every Saturday between mid-October 2008 and late January 2009, thousands of Icelanders
gathered in Austurvöllur to voice their anger over the collapse of the Icelandic banking
system which, it's estimated, left one in five families bankrupt. The protesters began by
burning the flag of Landsbanki, though soon also called for heads to roll. The main target of
popular discontent was the leader of the Icelandic Central Bank and former long-serving
politician, Davið Oddsson, who was squarely blamed for the economic collapse. The
demonstrators became more vocal as the lack of decisive action by the government
continued. Three and a half months of protests, in Austurvöllur and at various locations around
the country, finally convinced Prime Minister Geir Haarde that his administration had no future;
to national jubilation, it fell on January 26, 2009. However in 2012 a special court found Haarde
not guilty of negligence over the economic meltdown, accusing him merely of failing to hold
cabinet meetings when things turned critical. Equally exonerated, Davið Oddsson is today
editor of the country's biggest newspaper, Morgunblaðið .
noise from the throng can be deafening, the atmosphere is good-hearted and not at all
intimidating. By day, the area resumes its busy commercial air as people dash in and
out of the post office or pop in to the Eymundsson bookshop. Beyond its junction with
Pósthússtræti, Austurstræti gives itself over solely to pleasure, as this is where some of
the city's best bars and restaurants can be found. This is also the location for the vínbúð
state alcohol store, a futuristic glass-and-steel structure at no. 10a, where those who
want to drink at home have to come and part with vast amounts of cash.
Austurvöllur
Pósthússtræti, running south from Austurstræti, leads into another small square,
Austurvöllur , a favourite place for city slickers from nearby offices to catch a few rays
during their lunch breaks, stretched out on the grassy lawns edged with flowers. Yet the
square's modest proportions and nondescript apartment blocks belie its historical
importance. his was the site of Ingólfur Arnarson's farm; it's thought he grew his hay
on the land where the square now stands, and it marks the original centre of Reykjavík.
Similarly, the square's central, elevated statue of the nineteenth-century independence
campaigner Jón Sigurðsson , entitled The Pride of Iceland , its Sword and Shield , faces two
of the most important buildings in the country - the Alþingi and the Dómkirkjan
- though you'd never realize their status from their appearance.
The Alþingishúsið
Austurvöllur square
he Alþingishúsið (Parliament House) is ordinary in the extreme, a slight building made
of grey basalt quarried from nearby Skólavörðuholt hill, with the date of its completion
(1881) etched into its dark frontage - yet this unremarkable structure played a pivotal
role in bringing about Icelandic independence. In 1798, the parliament moved to
Reykjavík from Þingvellir (see p.99), where it had been operating virtually without
interruption since 930 AD. Within just two years, however, it was dissolved as Danish
power reached its peak, but with great pride and after much struggle, the Alþingi
regained its powers from Copenhagen as a consultative body in 1843, and a constitution
was granted in 1874, making Iceland self-governing in domestic affairs. The Act of
Union, passed in this building in 1918, made Iceland a sovereign state under the Danish
Crown although the act was open for reconsideration at any time after 1940, but by
then Denmark was occupied by the Nazis and the Alþingi had assumed the duties
normally carried out by the monarch, declaring its intention to dissolve the Act of
Union at the end of the war. Today, the modest interior, illuminated by chandeliers,
more resembles a town council chamber than the seat of a national parliament.
 
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