The Parliament of Iceland

Now this, without a doubt, is one of Reykjavik’s most powerful public buildings. Its dark grey diabase facade easily stands out, and its age always impresses too. Ladies and gentlemen, you are now facing the Icelandic Parliament—or more precisely, its headquarters. It’s important not to confuse both, since the institution itself was founded long before this actual building. We’re not talking about a few years, but several centuries apart. To witness the founding of Iceland’s parliament, you would have had to be alive in the year 930. Yes, that’s a long time ago, but its function was quite similar to nowadays: there were assemblies, discussions, and lawmaking. The one big difference from modern times was that every gathering meant a popular festival—there were games, dancing, horse fights, poetry readings, and saga storytelling. If you’re unfamiliar with Icelandic sagas, they’re a medieval literary genre filled with historic tales, fiction, and legends. Up until 1844, the Parliament met in a national park in the southwest of the island. Once Reykjavik was named capital, it only made sense for the institution to move here. That’s when Danish architect Ferdinand Meldahl was commissioned to build this imposing structure in 1881. Heavy and solid, yes—but above all, the official seat of the Icelandic Parliament. Today, 63 elected representatives continue to shape the country’s laws inside these walls, helping the oldest parliament in the world continue to break longevity records.