Thingvellir

Thingvellir is were the Vikings established the first Parliament and now the oldest still working Parliament in the world. Today Thingvellir is a national park and also the only place in the world where you can stand on the American tectonic plate overviewing the Eurasian plate.

You can stand on the American tectonic plate and look over at the European tectonic plate. This is the only place in the world where it is easy to see it above sea level. Thingvellir, 50km (31 miles) to the east of Reykjavík, is the national shrine of Iceland, its most historic site, and one of its most beautiful places.

The oldest existing parliament in the world called the Althing first met here in AD 930. The Althing met every year to enact laws, including the law passed in AD 1000 to introduce Christianity into the island. It has always been the focal point for the country, and whenever a major event is to be celebrated, thousands of people come here.

At the celebration of the 1,100th anniversary of the first settlement in 1974, more than 60,000 people packed into Thingvellir.