Founding of Reykjavík

Reykjavík, the capital and largest city of Iceland, lies on the southwestern coast of the island. According to the medieval sagas, the Norse settler Ingólfur Arnarson established a farm in the area in the ninth century, naming it Reykjavík, or Smoky Bay, after the steam from hot springs. The place remained a small settlement until the eighteenth century, when the Danish crown, which ruled Iceland, granted it a trading charter, and wool workshops were established there. The town became the country's administrative center, and the seat of its parliament when home rule was introduced. Iceland became a republic in 1944, and about two thirds of its population now live in the Reykjavík area.

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