Thingvellir History: The Alþing From 930 to 1944

For almost nine centuries Iceland’s general assembly met in this rift valley, for two weeks every summer, in the open air. Here is what happened at Thingvellir, from the first Alþing to the declaration of 1944, and which of the guided tours of Thingvellir give you time to stand where it happened.

Thingvellir in dates, 930 to 2004

930: the first Alþing

The Alþing general assembly was established at Thingvellir around 930. The place name records it: Þingvellir means “Assembly Plains”. For the Commonwealth period, from 930 to 1262, this was where Iceland made its laws and settled its disputes.

It met here, in the open, until 1798. No other place held the assembly for so long, and the ruins, the river and the rock you walk past today are the same ground.

The Law Rock and the Lawspeaker

The Lögberg, the Law Rock, was the hub of the assembly. Anyone attending could speak there. The assembly opened and closed there, and rulings and the calendar were announced from it.

The Lawspeaker was chosen by the Law Council for a three-year term. He recited the whole law over three summers, and the procedural rules every summer. He was the Commonwealth’s only paid official.

Where exactly Lögberg stood is still debated. One candidate is the ledge at the top of the slope Hallurinn, north of the Hamraskarð pass, where the flagpole stands now. The other lies inside Almannagjá, against the higher wall. In the 18th and 19th centuries Spöngin, the lava spit between the arms of Flosagjá, was taken for it as well.

The Law Council and the courts

The Lögrétta, the Law Council, was made up of 48 chieftains on a central platform. Each had two advisers, so with the bishops it came to 146 or 147 men. It sat east of the Öxará until the river shifted, and moved west of it in 1594. A house was built over it in the 18th century and stood until 1798.

The Quarter Courts were set up around 960, and a Fifth Court early in the 11th century. The laws were first written down in the winter of 1117–1118, at Hafliði Másson’s farm. The Commonwealth laws are known as Grágás. A new code, Jónsbók, was approved in 1281.

Two weeks every summer at the assembly

For two weeks each summer people came from all over the country. At the end of the 11th century Bishop Gissur Ísleifsson counted about 4,000 farmers. One in nine went with his chieftain, so up to 500 were required to attend. Those from the far east took 17 days to arrive.

They lived in booths, búðir, of turf and stone. The Búðaslóð, the Booth Trail, passes several of the ruins, but only two visible ruins date from the Commonwealth; one is Njálsbúð. The Icelandic phrase nú er þröng á þingi, “now it is crowded at the assembly”, probably dates from those summers.

The year 1000: Iceland becomes Christian

In the summer of 1000 the assembly split into pagans and Christians, each with its own Lawspeaker. Þorgeir Ljósvetningagoði, the pagan Lawspeaker, withdrew for a night and a day. Then he declared at Lögberg that Icelanders would be Christian, while pagans could keep practising in private.

The conversion changed the ground itself. Duels had been fought on Öxarárhólmi, an islet in the Öxará, and they were banned afterwards. A church has stood at Thingvellir since about 1017, built from timber and a bell that King Olaf of Norway sent.

Kings, the Great Judgment and Drekkingarhylur

In 1262, by the agreement known as Gamli sáttmáli, Iceland accepted the Norwegian king. Lögberg’s role as the voice of the Commonwealth ended with it. In 1662 a gathering here acknowledged the absolute rule of the Danish king.

The Great Judgment, Stóridómur, of 1564 made corporal punishment far more frequent. Drekkingarhylur, the Drowning Pool, is where women found guilty under it were drowned. Place names such as Gallows Cliffs remain from those centuries.

1798 to 1944: the road back to Thingvellir

The last Alþing at Thingvellir met in 1798. When the assembly was restored, it first met in Reykjavík, on 1 July 1845, and only in an advisory role. Thingvellir stayed the place the nation gathered. The first Þingvellir meeting, of 19 delegates, was held in 1848, and such meetings ran until 1907.

In 1874 King Christian IX handed Iceland its first constitution at Thingvellir. A law of 1928 made the site the property of the nation, and the national park followed in 1930. In 1944 Iceland’s declaration of independence was signed at Lögberg. National festivals followed here in 1974, for 1,100 years of settlement, in 1994, for 50 years of the republic, and in 2000, for the millennium of Christianity.

The church at Thingvellir since about 1017

The present church, Þingvallakirkja, was built in 1859, and its bell tower was added in 1907. It stands on a site that has held a church for about a thousand years.

It opens from 1 June to 31 August when a ranger is present, commonly 09:00 to 10:00 and 13:30 to 17:00. In winter it is closed except for services. The things to do guide sets it beside the other stops in the park.

Tours with time to walk the assembly site

Thingvellir National Park Tour ( Þingvellir )

Two hours in the park with your own driver, from Harpa and back. One price covers a group of up to three.

From $713 per group, up to 3

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Private Golden Circle Tour by Luxury SUV from Reykjavik

The Golden Circle in a private full-size SUV with a driver-guide and 45 minutes at Thingvellir. Priced per person, minimum two, with hotel pickup.

From $820 per person (min. 2)

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Golden Circle with Kerid Volcanic Crater Day Tour from Reykjavik

The Golden Circle by coach from Bus Stop 12, with 40 minutes at Thingvellir and a professional guide. Kerið is on morning departures only.

From $89 per person

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Where to check these figures

The history above is the park’s own account, published on its site.

• History of Þingvellir
• Þingvallakirkja