Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The little farmhouse in the bottom of the rift, Þingvallabær was built for the 1000th an-
niversary of the Alþing in 1930 by state architect Guðjón Samúelsson. It's now used as the
park warden's office and prime minister's summer house.
Þingvallakirkja
CHURCH
Behind the Þingvallabær farmhouse, Þingvallakirkja is one of Iceland's first churches. The
original was consecrated in the 11th century, but the current wooden building only dates
from 1859. Inside are several bells from earlier churches, a 17th-century wooden pulpit,
and a painted altarpiece from 1834. The Independence-era poets Jónas Hallgrímsson and
Einar Benediktsson are interred in the small cemetery behind the church.
Búðir
RUINS
Straddling both sides of the Öxará river, you'll find the ruins of various temporary camps
called
búðir
(literally booths). These stone foundations were covered during sessions and
were where parliament-goers camped. They also acted like stalls at today's music festivals,
selling beer, food and vellum to assembled crowds. Most of the remains date from the 17th
and 18th centuries; the largest, and one of the oldest, is
Biskupabúð
, which belonged to
the bishops of Iceland and is located north of the church.
The Alþingi
LANDMARK
Near the dramatic Almannagjá fault and fronted by a boardwalk is the
Lögberg
(Law
Rock), where the Alþing convened annually. This was where the
lögsögumaður
(law
speaker) recited the existing laws to the assembled parliament (one third each year). After
Iceland's conversion to Christianity, the site shifted to the very foot of the Almannagjá
cliffs, which acted as a natural amplifier, broadcasting the voices of the speakers across the
assembled crowds. That site is marked by the Icelandic flag.
