Iceland questions

Draken Harald Hårfagre is the largest Viking ship built in modern times. It is a ship that combines ocean-crossing sailing capabilities with a warship's use of oars. The longship is 35 metres (115 ft) long with a beam of approximately 8 metres (26 ft) and a displacement of about 95 metric tons. It is equipped with 50 oars.

The Alþingi is the national parliament of Iceland. It is the oldest surviving parliament in the world[, a claim shared by Tynwald. The Althing was founded in 930 at Þingvellir. Even after Iceland's union with Norway in 1262, the Althing still held its sessions until 1800, when it was discontinued for 45 years. It was restored in 1844 and moved to Reykjavík, where it has resided ever since.

There are approximately 200 volcanoes in Iceland. Most of them are concentrated along the border of tectonic plates stretching from the south-west of the island to the northeast. It is estimated that from the year 1500 from Icelandic volcanoes, the amount of lava equal to about one third of the amount of lava from all other eruptions in this period around the world.

The Golden Circle consists of three of the most popular tourist sites in Iceland; National Park, Geysir hot spring area and Gullfoss waterfall. Golden Circle takes you from Reykjavik one way, and after visiting the sites, another way back to the city, making it into a 300 km circle. The Diamond Circle is a route around Húsavík and Lake Mývatn in North Iceland.

Stockfish is unsalted fish, especially cod, dried by cold air and wind on wooden racks (which is called "hjell" in Norway) on the foreshore. The drying of food is the world's oldest known preservation method, and dried fish has a storage life of several years. The method is cheap and effective in suitable climates; the work can be done by the fisherman and family, and the resulting product is easily transported to market.

Hvítserkur is a 15 m high basalt stack along the eastern shore of the Vatnsnes peninsula, in northwest Iceland. It has two holes at the base, curved out by the sea erosion, which gave it the appearance of a dragon who is drinking. The legend has it, Hvítserkur is a petrified troll who got caught by daylight and turned into stone.

Leif Erikson was a Norse explorer from Iceland. According to the Sagas of Icelanders, he established a Norse settlement at Vinland, tentatively identified with the Norse L'Anse aux Meadows on the northern tip of Newfoundland in modern-day Canada. Later archaeological evidence suggests that Vinland may have been the areas around the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and that the L'Anse aux Meadows site was a ship repair station.

Vigdís Finnbogadóttir served as the fourth President of Iceland from 1980 to 1996. With a presidency of exactly sixteen years, she remains the longest-serving elected female head of state of any country to date. Currently, she is a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador.

At 74.5 metres, the Church of Hallgrímur it is the largest church in Iceland and among the tallest structures in the country. Situated in the centre of Reykjavík, it is one of the city's best-known landmarks, and is visible throughout the city. There is a viewing deck at the top, from which observers can admire the city and the surrounding mountains.

The Cod Wars were disputes running from the 1950s to the 1970s over fishing rights in the North Atlantic. Each of the disputes ended with Iceland's victory. As a result, the already declining British fisheries were hit hard by being excluded from their prime fishing grounds with thousands of fishermen and people being put out of work.