Reykjavík’s location, just south of the Arctic Circle, means that on the darkest day of the year, Reykjavík only gets four hours of sunlight. In summer, however, there’s sunlight all night long!
At the beginning of the 20th century, only about 6,000 people lived in Reykjavík. The 2019 census counts over 128,000, an increase of more than 2,000% over the course of a century.
In 2010, a comedian ran for mayor of Reykjavík. He promised to practice corruption openly, fight for a drug-free parliament, and called his party the Best Party. He won by a landslide.
There are seven geothermally heated swimming pools in Reykjavík proper and 18 in the larger capital area.
Two-thirds of Icelanders live in Reykjavík or the surrounding suburbs.
While Hallgrímskirkja church is Reykjavík’s tallest building at 74.5m, nearby municipality Kópavogur has the highest building in Iceland at 77.6m.
Two-thirds of Icelanders live in Reykjavík or the surrounding suburbs.
Reykjavík was the first permanent settlement in Iceland, the homestead of settler Ingólfur Arnarson and his wife Hallveig Fróðadóttir. This earned Ingólfur the honour of a statue atop Arnarhóll hill.
Laugavegur, the city centre’s main shopping street, started out as a muddy trail for washerwomen carrying heavy loads of laundry to the hot springs in Laugardalur.
Reykjavík is the world’s northernmost capital of an independent nation.
