10 interesting facts about Iceland – a country with fascinating natural beauty

Iceland in the view of the average layman is a country of mysterious elves, geysers, and the people inhabiting this ice island are the descendants of the brave and courageous Vikings. Despite the rather harsh climate and the lack of valuable natural resources, Iceland, for many years, has been a country with one of the highest living standards in the world.

Many people call Iceland the country of ice and imagining scenes from the Game of Thrones, they think that it is very, very cold there, but in fact the average temperature here in January is -4 C. In general, this country is fraught with many secrets.

Here are 10 interesting facts about Iceland.

10 small population

Only 330 people inhabit the island. Of course, this is very little, given that this is a fairly vast territory. For example, the area of ​​Iceland is almost identical to the area of ​​South Korea, where more than 50 million people live. These data indicate a very low population density in the country. About 120 people live in the country’s capital, Reykjavik, which is almost half of Iceland.

At the same time, Iceland has twice as many sheep as people. In particular, according to experts, there are more than 600 heads. You can just walk around the island to see with your own eyes a huge number of sheep grazing on these lands.

9. All Icelanders are related to each other.

In Iceland, the world around you is literally family. Most Icelanders are cousins ​​or second cousins ​​to each other. Because of this, it is customary here to consult a geneticist and study the family tree of the person with whom you are going to marry (to avoid creating closely related unions). In Iceland, there are even mobile apps that allow you to check it instantly.

8. Loving country

The crime rate in the country is more than low. On average, one crime is committed here every 6 or 8 years and almost always occurs involuntarily or with the use of alcohol or drugs.

In addition, despite the fact that Iceland is a member of NATO, it is one of the few countries in the world where there is no military and, accordingly, military spending. Iceland has not had an army since 1859. However, there is a defense agreement with the United States that maintained a military base in the country from 1951 to September 2006.

In addition, Iceland maintains an expeditionary peacekeeping force, coast guards, police, as well as a special police unit for specific cases.

7. High level of education of the population

This Scandinavian country is a country with one of the highest literacy rates in the world. The degree of education here is about 100%, and the percentage of university students is 96%. In addition, Iceland occupies one of the leading places in the world in terms of the number of book lovers.

Another very important cultural fact characteristic of Iceland is the powerful music industry, which has become prominent representatives of such popular artists as Bjork and Sigur Ros.

6. There are no ants in the country

Iceland is one of the few places in the world where there is not a single ant.. There is no scientific explanation for this phenomenon, but it is true.

This may be due to the fact that the island is geologically young or cold. Xavier Espadaler Gelabert, an expert who has studied ants for 35 years, claims that this class of insects usually nests on the ground. However, the specialist suggests that Iceland has such ice surfaces that “it does not allow insects to have the necessary time to lay eggs, larvae, and complete the full biological cycle».

In any case, this is just an assumption, a reliable explanation for the absence of ants in Iceland, confirmed by irrefutable evidence, does not exist to this day.

5. Love for elves and other mythical creatures

Icelanders have a real adoration for these mythological creatures. The cult of elves is so widespread here that a huge number of local residents are convinced that they really exist.. A survey among the population showed that up to 54% do not deny the possible existence of elves, and 8% believe that they live among them.

In fact, in this country it is very common to see small houses built for elves in the gardens of Icelandic houses.

The most popular representatives of Icelandic folklore are the Huldufolk, or hidden people, who are often identified with elves. According to local legends, these magical creatures take refuge in the mountains.

Sometimes in Iceland, the construction projects of some buildings or communications are changed so as not to damage the alleged habitats of the elves, and in 2004 Alcoa Corporation had to obtain a special certificate confirming that the chosen place for the construction of the aluminum smelter was not the habitat of the Huldufolk.

4. many volcanoes

This is definitely one of the most volcanic countries in the world. In fact, the island is in the middle of a fault that separates two tectonic plates – the United States and Eurasia. In total, there are about 130 volcanoes on the island, of which 19 are active.

3. The ban on beer and the lack of McDonald’s

Though it’s hard to believe beer was not legalized in Iceland until 1989 (the same year the Berlin Wall came down). Beer circulated freely around the island from March 1 of that year – since then it has been Beer Day, which has been celebrated very joyfully, with scenes of genuine madness that were broadcast on television.

Today, beer accounts for 62% of the alcohol consumed in Iceland. However, for most of the twentieth century, it was considered an anti-patriotic drink associated with Denmark, the country with which Iceland fought for independence.

Interesting fact: On October 31, 2009, the last McDonald’s in Iceland closed. The owner of the network decided to leave the business in this country due to the loss of value of the Icelandic crown, which collapsed after the 2008 crisis. In addition, the McDonald’s fast food restaurant chain guarantees that it has no intention of returning to this country. In addition to Iceland, countries such as Albania, Armenia and Bosnia-Herzegovina also do not have McDonald’s in their territory.

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Iceland also has something to do with the creation of the cult HBO series. First of all, this is that the name of the books on which Game of Thrones was based, A Song of Ice and Fire, comes from the so-called kenningars – poetic constructions replete with sagas and epic poems that are part of the Icelandic medieval literary genre.

George R.R. Martin took names such as “Sword Storm” or “Crow Feast” from the Icelandic Kenningar.

1. Iceland had a law that allowed the killing of Basques

A 1615 law allowed the killing of Basques in the Westfjords region of Iceland. The law was promulgated by King Christian IV. As a result, 32 people died (this is the largest massacre in the history of Iceland).

However, on April 22, 2015, a reconciliation ceremony took place in Holmavik. They placed a tablet on a rock, the Icelandic and Gipuzkoan authorities made their speeches, the descendant of the murderers and the descendant of one of the murdered embraced and recited poetry.