X-Nico

92 unusual facts about Reykjavík


1986 Hvalur sinkings

The 1986 Hvalur sinkings occurred in Iceland's Reykjavík harbour in November 1986, when anti-whaling activists from the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society sank two unoccupied whaling vessels, Hvalur 6 and Hvalur 7, and sabotaged a whale processing station in Hvalfjörður.

1st Battalion 6th Marines

1/6 deployed during May to July 1941 to Reykjavík in Iceland and was re-assigned to the 1st Provisional Marine Brigade.

2nd Battalion 6th Marines

From May to July 1941 2/6 reassigned to the 1st Provisional Marine Brigade and deployed to garrison Reykjavík, Iceland against possible German invasion.

342d Fighter Day Group

On the morning of 14 August 1942 two American fighter pilots, Lt. E. E. Shahan and Lt. J. D. Shaffer, intercepted and destroyed a Focke-Wulf Fw 200 about ten miles north of Reykjavík.

Adam Egede-Nissen

In Toronto he enlisted in the anti-Nazi struggle and was sent first to Reykjavík and later to New York City.

Agricultural University of Iceland

The university's facilities are mainly located at Hvanneyri, near Borgarnes, Iceland but it also operates research stations in Reykjavík, Árnessýsla and Eyjafjarðarsýsla.

Althing

The Althing was founded in 930 at Þingvellir, the "assembly fields" or "Parliament Plains", situated approximately 45 km east of what later became the country's capital, Reykjavík.

Anna Kerstin Otto

In 1997–1999, she studied at Hochschule für Gestaltung, Offenbach, and Academy of Reykjavík, Iceland.

Ariel Hyatt

Some of the events Hyatt has spoken at include South by Southwest, the CMJ SoundCtrl, ASCAP’s I Create Music, The Future of Music, Canadian Music Week, APRA’s Song Summit in Sydney, You Are In Control (Reykjavík), The ECMAs, NARAS, and The Taxi Road Rally.

Ármann Smári Björnsson

After a string of impressive displays in the 2006 season, Björnsson earned his first international cap for Iceland when he came on as a substitute against Spain in a friendly in Reykjavík on 15 August 2006.

Ásgeir Ásgeirsson

Educated as a theologian, Ásgeir graduated with honours from the University of Iceland in Reykjavík in 1915, but was considered too young to be ordained as a minister.

Ásgeir Börkur Ásgeirsson

Ásgeirsson was born in Reykjavík, and played for Fylkir's youth teams, before joining lower leagues team UMF Selfoss on loan for two consecutive years in 2007 and 2008.

Bedshaped

#"Everybody's Changing" (live) (Airwaves Festival, Reykjavík, 23 October 2004)

Bible translations into Icelandic

By at least 1906, the British Bible Society (now printing in Reykjavík) put out a new New Testament translation based on the original texts, by Haraldur Níelsson, and by 1908 released the entire Bible.

Bodega Band

In this period the Bodega band also toured to Reykjavík (1978), performed at Moldejazz (1977) and at the "Festspillene i Nord-Norge" (1973).

Conor White

White was first called up to represent Australia in 2000 where he joined the national senior team to compete in the 2000 IIHF World Championship Pool D tournament being held in Reykjavík, Iceland.

Dagskrá – Reykjavík

Dagskrá was the first newspaper published in Iceland, first published 1896 in Reykjavík.

De Havilland Albatross

Both aircraft were destroyed in landing accidents in Reykjavík, one (Faraday) in 1941 and one (Franklin) in 1942.

DeCODE genetics

(Icelandic: Íslensk erfðagreining) is a biopharmaceutical company based in Reykjavík, Iceland.

Eva Ingolf

After studying at the Conservatory of Reykjavík for 6 years, Eva left Iceland to study with some of Europe’s finest violin pedagogues.

Fate of Norns

The latter includes a live bonus DVD, Amon Amarth Live at Grand Rokk, which features live recordings and three-camera footage of a live performance in Reykjavík, Iceland on March 5, 2004.

Fjalar Þorgeirsson

Fjalar Þorgeirsson (born 18 January 1977) is an Icelandic footballer who currently plays for Valur in the Icelandic Úrvalsdeild.

Foto Strakosha

In his debut, Albania lost the game in Reykjavík 2–0 which added to their miserable run of 19 games without a single win.

German submarine U-254

During this month-long journey, U-254 was ordered to spend sometime cruising off Reykjavík, Iceland, hoping to catch some stragglers from northern convoys or supply ships running to the Allied forces stationed on the island.

German submarine U-442

Ten of her 37 crew died in the attack, the survivors were picked up by the Norwegian merchantman Lysaker IV and landed at Reykjavík.

German submarine U-464

In July 1999 a squadron of Deutsche Marine submarines visited Reykjavík to honor the Icelandic seamen who rescued the U-boat crew.

Go Quiet

Go Quiet was filmed in Reykjavík during New Year, 2010, and features the festive sights and sounds of New Year's Eve in Iceland.

Guðmundur Gunnarsson

He was a municipal representative of the Sjálfstæðisflokksins í Reykjavík (Independence Party) in Reykjavík from 1994 to 1998 and Chairman of the Nordic Federation of Electricians' Unions from 1994 to 1996 and from 2004 to 2006.

Guðni Jónsson

He was raised by relatives at Leirubakki until he was twelve, worked two seasons as a fisherman and then was taken in by his married sister in Reykjavík, enabling him to attend evening school there.

Hannes Sigurðsson

Hannes Þorsteinn Sigurðsson (born 10 April 1983 in Reykjavík, Iceland) is an Icelandic football player.

Helgi Sigurðsson

Helgi Sigurðsson (born 14 September 1974 in Reykjavík) is an Icelandic footballer who plays as a striker for Afturelding.

Hidebound

During fairs and festivals in Reykjavík, Iceland, members of the general public where offered to help in making of the film by tracing their own style the people from these print-outs.

Hjálmar Þórarinsson

Hjálmar Þórarinsson (born 16 February 1986, in Reykjavík) is an Icelandic footballer currently playing as a striker for Berserkir.

HMS Jervis Bay

Even so, Fegan and his crew fought on until their ship was set ablaze and sunk 755 nautical miles (1,398 kilometres) south-southwest of Reykjavík.

ICEARRAY

Most of the units are located in the basements of residential buildings in Hveragerdi town centre, which is approximately 35 km southeast of Iceland’s capital, Reykjavík.

Iceland Symphony Orchestra

Sinfóníuhljómsveit Íslands (Iceland Symphony Orchestra) (ISO) is an orchestra based in Reykjavík, Iceland.

Indriði Sigurðsson

Indriði Sigurðsson (born 12 October 1981 in Reykjavík) is an Icelandic football defender.

Ingibjörg Sólrún Gísladóttir

She became Mayor of Reykjavík in 1994 when she led a coalition of four political parties called Reykjavíkurlistinn, winning the elections.

Jean-Baptiste Baudoin

They arrived in 1857 (Bernard) and 1858 (Baudoin) respectively, and built a small chapel at the Landakot farmstead near Reykjavík.

Jim Bett

He left Pittodrie in 1994, after making almost 300 first-team appearances, and moved to KR Reykjavík.

Jón Ásgeir Jóhannesson

Jón Ásgeir Jóhannesson (born 27 January 1968 in Reykjavík) is an Icelandic businessman and former CEO of Baugur Group.

Jón Gunnar Árnason

Jón Gunnar Árnason (1931–1989 in Reykjavík) was an Icelandic sculptor.

Jón Þorláksson

Jón Þorláksson graduated from Menntaskólinn í Reykjavík in 1897, highest in his class and with the best results ever given to a student at that school.

Kjartan Finnbogason

Kjartan Henry Finnbogason (born 9 July 1986 in Reykjavík, Iceland) is an Iceland international football player currently playing for KR in Iceland.

Kristleifur Björnsson

Kristleifur Björnsson is an Icelandic visual artist born in Reykjavík, Iceland in 1973.

Lárus List

Lárus H. List, born Reykjavík 28 February 1956, is an artist resident in Háteigur, Akureyri in the north-east of Iceland.

Live in Reykjavik

This record contains live recordings that were taken during a concert in Reykjavík, Iceland, in November, 1983 and was first released in 1984 under the name of Those Who Do Not with two additional songs and some minor changes.

Liverpool Land

Access to the region is gained through the Nerlerit Inaat Airport, with scheduled services to Reykjavík in Iceland and Kulusuk in southeastern Greenland, operated by Air Iceland.

Luca Toni

He consequently gained his first cap for the Italian national team in a friendly match 18 August 2004 lost 2–0 to Iceland in Reykjavík, which also marked Marcello Lippi's debut at the helm of the Azzurri.

Maritime Central Airways Flight 315

Maritime Central Airways (MCA) Flight 315 was a non-scheduled commercial flight from London, England to Toronto, Ontario with refueling stops in Reykjavík, Iceland and Goose Bay, Newfoundland.

Marteinn Geirsson

He is currently the precinct captain for the Reykjavík fire department and has been a fireman for over 30 years.

Michelle Paradise

Paradise wrote, produced and starred in the short film The Ten Rules: The Lesbian Survival Guide, which debuted in 2002 and subsequently played at gay and lesbian film festivals, both in the United States and in Europe (specifically Copenhagen, Paris and Reykjavík).

Montevideo Resolution

In 1977, the Director-General visited the Universal Congress of Esperanto in Reykjavík, Iceland and in 1985, UNESCO passed a further resolution recommending that member countries encourage the teaching of Esperanto.

Morgunblaðið

Circulation is mostly focused on the southwestern part of the country, especially in the capital Reykjavík.

National Preservation Party

Representatives of the party also gained presence in the student council of the University of Iceland, the Akureyri local government and in the city council of Reykjavík.

No. 251 Squadron RAF

No. 251 Squadron was then reborn after No. 1407 Flight (stationed at Reykjavík) was renumbered for air-sea rescues on 1 August 1944.

No. 271 Squadron RAF

For a while the Squadron operated a detached flight at RAF Wick running a regular service to Reykjavík in Iceland using de Havilland DH.91

Oleg Tistol

At the end of 1988 Tistol and Reunov in cooperation with the curator Olga Sviblova start to exhibit their works in Glasgow, Reykjavík, Helsinki.

Patrekur

Patrekur is a sport club in Reykjavík, Iceland.

Public transport in Iceland

Limited services are provided in the major urban areas, for example Strætó bs operates bus services in Reykjavík, and Strætisvagnar Akureyrar in the northern town of Akureyri.

In recent years, however, there have been proposals to construct a railway service between Keflavík Airport and Reykjavík.

Ragna Ingólfsdóttir

Ragna Ingólfsdóttir (born 22 February 1983 in Reykjavík) is an Icelandic badminton player.

Reykjavík-Rotterdam

The original film's lead actor, Baltasar Kormákur—a successful director in his home country of Iceland—took on the role of director.

Rúnar Kristinsson

Rúnar Kristinsson (born 5 September 1969 in Reykjavík) is a former Icelandic footballer who played for Lokeren, Lillestrøm SK and KR Reykjavík.

He first tried out football at the small club Leiknir, before he started practicing at KR Reykjavík, Iceland's largest club, where he spent his youth career.

Saint Thorlak

Most people in Reykjavík go into town in the night to meet others and do the last shopping before Christmas.

Sigurður Gylfi Magnússon

Sigurður Gylfi Magnússon was born in the West End of Reykjavík.

Sjáumst með Silvíu Nótt

Silvia also received a lot of attention from media when she, on the premiere day of her own TV show, protested against it on the streets of Reykjavík saying that "the show is total junk".

Skálmöld

In November, 2013, Skálmöld played a series of concerts with the Iceland Symphony Orchestra at the Harpa concert hall in Reykjavík.

Sölvi Ottesen

Sölvi Geir Ottesen Jónsson (born 18 February 1984 in Reykjavík) is an Icelandic footballer, a centre back.

SS Empire Baffin

Convoy PQ 16 sailed from Reykjavík on 21 May 1942 and arrived at Murmansk on 30 May.

SS West Gotomska

After suffering ice damage en route however, she was diverted to Convoy QP 10, which was returning from Russia to Reykjavík, Iceland.

Steinunn Valdís Óskarsdóttir

Steinunn Valdís Óskarsdóttir (born 7 April 1965) is an Icelandic politician, and a former mayor of Reykjavík.

Strætó bs

Strætó bs is owned and run by the seven municipalities in the Capital area, i.e. Reykjavík, Kópavogur, Hafnarfjörður, Garðabær, Mosfellsbær, Seltjarnarnes and Álftanes.

The main ones are Hlemmur and Lækjartorg in downtown Reykjavik; the others are at Hamraborg in Kópavogur, Fjörður in Hafnarfjörður, Ásgarður in Garðabær, Ártún, Mjódd, Spöngin in Reykjavík and Háholt in Mosfellsbær.

Suðurlandsbraut

Suðurlandsbraut (street) - a street in Reykjavík, formerly a part of the eastern exit from the city.

Svavar Guðnason

Svavar Guðnason (November 18, 1909 in Höfn í Hornafirði – June 25, 1988 in Reykjavík) was an Icelandic painter.

Svetozar Gligorić

One of the most notable was Fischer v Spassky: The Chess Match of the Century, a detailed account of their epic struggle for the world title in Reykjavík in 1972.

Tech noire

Beatkamp is a pocket record label that has its roots in Toronto, Canada as well as Reykjavík, Iceland.

Teddy Bjarnason

His grandfather, Theódór Jakob Guðmundsson, played for KR Reykjavík in the golden years of that club and competed against Liverpool in 1964 in the first European game for both of these clubs.

Theódór Elmar "Teddy" Bjarnason (born 4 March 1987 in Reykjavík, Iceland) is an Icelandic footballer who currently plays as a left midfielder for Danish club Randers FC.

The Laundromat Cafe

In 2010 two more cafés were opened, at Austurstræti 9, Reykjavík, Iceland and at Gammel Kongevej 96 Frederiksberg, Denmark.

The Laundromat Cafe is the name of four cafés in Copenhagen, Denmark and Reykjavík, Iceland.

The Letting Go

It was recorded in Reykjavík, Iceland and produced by Valgeir Sigurðsson, who is known for his work with the Icelandic artist Björk.

Timeline of the Icelandic financial crisis

Earlier in the day, Russia's ambassador in Reykjavík, Victor I. Tatarintsev, informes the chairman of the executive board of the Central Bank of Iceland that the Russians were willing to loan Iceland €4 billion (680 billion ISK, US$5.4 billion).

Veigar Páll Gunnarsson

He failed to establish himself in the first team so he returned to Iceland to play for KR Reykjavík.

Viktor Bjarki Arnarsson

Viktor Bjarki Arnarsson (born 22 January 1983 in Reykjavík, Iceland) is a football player who currently plays for Fram

Vilmundur Gylfason

Vilmundur studied at Menntaskólinn í Reykjavík, an Icelandic Junior College, from 1964 to 1968.

When he returned to Iceland in 1973, he received a job as a teacher of history at Menntaskólinn í Reykjavík and wrote articles in the Icelandic newspapers.

In the 1978 elections Vilmundur was a candidate in Reykjavík and was voted into office.

Vladimir Liberzon

Having transferred nationality, he continued to score well in international competitions, finishing first at Venice 1974, first at Lone Pine 1975, second equal at Netanya 1975, second equal at Reykjavík 1975, first equal at Beer-Sheva 1976, first equal at Netanya 1977, 3rd at Amsterdam 1977, first equal at Lone Pine 1979, and fourth equal at Beer-Sheva 1984.

Þorbjörg Pálsdóttir

She is perhaps best known for her four green alien-like public statues Dansleikur/Dance in Reykjavík, which she completed in 1970.


Á Móti Sól

Most of Á Móti Sól's members come from, and continue to be based out of, the south Iceland region that includes the towns of Hveragerði and Selfoss, about 45 km SE of Reykjavik.

Angela Rawlings

As an arts educator, rawlings has led creative writing workshops for Ryerson University, terminus1525.ca, Learning through the Arts, League of Canadian Poets, Ontario Arts Council's Artists in Education Program, the Toronto District School Board, Writers in Electronic Residence, the Toronto Public Library system, the State Library of Queensland (Australia), Menningarverkefnið Hlaðan (Vogar, Iceland), and Listaháskólinn Íslands (Reykjavík, Iceland).

As Above...

"Killer Boogie" and "Rúdolf" are featured again in Rokk í Reykjavík (Rock in Reykjavík), a concert compilation released in 1982 with the presence of other renowned Icelandic bands.

Boško Abramović

Best results: 1st at Lugano 1981; 1st at Pamporovo 1982; 1st at Reykjavík 1982; 1st at Vrnjacka Banja 1983; 1st at Niš 1983; 1st at Belgrade 1984; 1st at Linz 1984; 1st at Paris 1985; 2nd at Montpellier 1986; 1st at Berlin 1990; 1st at Oberwart 1990; 1st at Kladovo 1993; 1st at Bela Crkva 1995; 2nd in the Serbian chess championship 2006.

Eistnaflug

Eistnaflug is an indoor festival situated in Neskaupstaður, a quaint little town located on the Norðfjörður fjord on the Eastern coast of Iceland, 700km away from Reykjavik

Endel Puusepp

On May 29, 1942, after stopping in Tealing, Prestwick, Reykjavík, and Goose Bay, the Petlyakov Pe-8 plane with the Soviet delegation on board landed in Washington.

Guðni Jónsson

He began a career as a teacher at a primary school in the Vestmannaeyjar in winter 1926–27, taught evening school himself in Reykjavík in 1927–28, taught at the Commercial College of Iceland in 1928–29, and then taught at Reykvíking Middle School from 1928 until 1945, when he became headmaster.

Hallgrímur Helgason

His best-known works are 101 Reykjavík, which was made into a popular film of the same name, Höfundur Íslands (The Author of Iceland), which won the Icelandic Literary Prize in 2001, and The Hitman's Guide to House Cleaning.

Haukur Halldórsson

Haukur Halldórsson (The Hawk) was born 1937 in Reykjavík is an Icelandic artist and member of the Íslenska Ásatrúarfélagið.

Hilmar Grétarsson

Hilmar Grétarsson (born March 8, 1982) is an Icelandic newspaper publisher best known for founding the Reykjavík-based, English language Reykjavik Grapevine with Jón Trausti Sigurðarson and Valur Gunnarsson.

Iceland Symphony Orchestra

Per a 1982 law, the ISO's primary financial sources are the Icelandic treasury (56%), RÚV (Icelandic National Broadcasting Service) (25%), and the City of Reykjavik (18%), with the remaining 1% coming from the township of Seltjarnarnes.

Icelandic political scandals

(2004) Þórólfur Árnason resigned from office as mayor of Reykjavík in November 2004 after charges that he had been guilty of consultation with oil partners.

Invasion of Iceland

In the following days air defence equipment was deployed in Reykjavík and a detachment of troops was sent to Akureyri.

Joannes Gijsen

In Roermond, he had already been succeeded by bishop Frans Wiertz but in Reykjavik, the diocese with few priests for an enormous area, happened to have been vacant for two years, due to the rather sudden death of the American bishop, Alfred Jolson.

Kjalarnes

It takes about 18 kilometers to drive from Kjalarnes to Reykjavík and it takes 13 kilometers to drive from Kjalarnes to Mosfellsbær.

Mayor of Reykjavik City

Since 2003 seven people have held the mayor position, due to an unprecedented amount of instability in Reykjavík's municipal coalition government caused in part by the 2008–11 Icelandic financial crisis.

Norma Fisher

She performs frequently with the International Chamber Ensemble of Rome, Carmina Quartet and Reykjavik Wind Quintet and has partnered such well known soloists as Stephanie Gonley, Alan Hacker, Maurice Hasson, Emanuel Hurwitz, Ralph Kirshbaum, Steven Isserlis, Peter Lukas Graf, Gyorgy Pauk, Hu Kun, Sylvia Rosenberg, Grigori Zhislin, Yossi Zivoni and singers Benjamin Luxon, Sherrill Milnes and Nelly Miricioiu.

Peter Raadsig

The painting is currently on public display at Viðeyjarstofa in Viðey (an island near Reykjavík), where a plaque explains that it was a gift to the City of Reykjavík from Eimskipafélag Íslands on the occasion of the 200th birthday of Reykjavík (1986).

Saga Investment Bank

The firm’s main headquarters is in Akureyri, but the Corporate Finance and Capital Markets sectors are located in Reykjavík.

Sighvatsson

Sigurjón Sighvatsson (born 1952), veteran Icelandic film producer and businessman, born in Reykjavík

Vicente Zarzo Pitarch

He has also played as the horn soloist for the Valencia Orchestra, the Symphony Orchestra of the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, the Iceland Symphony Orchestra in Reykjavik, the American Wind Symphony Orchestra in Pittsburgh, and the National Orchestra of Mexico.

Þórólfur Árnason

Þórólfur Árnason took over as the mayor of Reykjavík on 1 February 2003 after the Left Greens and the Progressive Party had demanded that Ingibjörg Sólrún Gísladóttir, which was mayor next before Þórólfur, would either resign, or decide not to pursue a career in national politics.