Deep North: Stories from Iceland

The tragic story of the stranding at Djúpalónssandur.

The Einherjar football team was founded in the year of our unlordly economic meltdown. 2008. They played their first match in 2016 – but all of their games are friendlies. Not yet recognised by the National Olympic and Sports Association of Iceland (ÍSÍ), the Einherjar, Iceland's only American football team, must fend for themselves.

The Westman Islands are home to some of the most exciting tastes you've never heard of.

The Council of Europe, held in Reykjavík this May, was the largest such event since the 1986 Reagan-Gorbachev summit.

Gísli Einarsson must rank as one of Iceland’s most prolific television producers. When afforded the opportunity of stepping behind the camera and training his lens upon the world, Gísli’s audience saw the world not as it was – but as Gísli was: it took a true rustic, proud of his provincial manners and heritage, to make it to the national broadcaster in Reykjavík and focus our collective attention...

Observant visitors to Reykjavík may have noticed a peculiar street name: Barónsstígur, named after an eccentric aristocrat who lived in Iceland at the turn of the century.

This April, sheep at Bergsstaðir farm in Northwest Iceland were diagnosed with the fatal degenerative disease known as scrapie. In accordance with regulations, the 700-some sheep were culled to prevent the spread of the disease to neighbouring farms. We revisit our 2022 article, Good Breeding, to see what's being done to fight this deadly disease.

Feminist punk band and political activist group Pussy Riot held their first-ever gallery exhibition at Reykjavík's Marshall House.

The many digressions of Icelandic artist, Júníus Meyvant.

The circular economy could revolutionize how we make things and deal with our waste. A profile of the Icelandic entrepreneurs working within the circular ethos.

When we met the beauty pageant winner, he wasn't exactly what you might expect: three years old, short, and furry. This is the story of the comeback of the Icelandic sheepdog.

A history of the Icelandic flatbread: the unsung hero of traditional Icelandic cuisine.

With a growing economy, Iceland is home to more foreign-born residents than ever. And although Icelandic is often described as an "impossible" language to learn, the barriers to learning Icelandic are more often social and economic. We look at the shortcomings of Icelandic as a second language education, and ask what's to be done.

In the fall of 1813, a young, shy Danish man disembarked from a cargo sailing ship in Reykjavík harbour. His name was Rasmus Kristian Rask (1787-1832), but he was no merchant, nor was he a tourist. Short in stature and modestly dressed, his face was thin and fine-featured, long-nosed with round, clear eyes that burned with enthusiasm and intellect. Rask had been offered free passage to Iceland by...

A look at the women in business who are finding solutions for workplace inequality in Iceland and the world.

On March 30, 1949, a large crowd convened behind a school in central Reykjavík. They were protesting the government’s decision to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organi­sation, then in its infancy. Once a sizeable throng had formed, the group marched on Alþingi, Iceland’s parliament. They were met by a group of NATO supporters who had surrounded the parliament building, in­tending to defend it. A r...

Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson, the Icelander who portrayed Gregor Clegane, a.k.a. “the Mountain,” in HBO series Game of Thrones, owns and operates a gym in Kópavogur, Iceland. It’s called Thor’s Power Gym, which, admittedly, has an ever-so-slightly masculine ring to it. It’s there where Hafþór and other might-minded individuals convene to train for, among other things, the sport of strongman. Called afl...

Haraldur Þorleifsson, known more often as Halli, is famous for something most of us do every year: paying our taxes. After the sale of his company Ueno to Twitter, Halli became one of Iceland's so-called "Tax Kings." Now, he's working to make Iceland more accessible.

The Westfjords have always been isolated, but after World War II, when the rest of Iceland experienced a period of sped-up industrialisation, the Westfjords were left behind. Once-thriving communities were slowly drained of life when the young people moved south, and a series of economic setbacks made life difficult for the ones that remained. A look at daily life in this remote region of Iceland.

In the spring of last year, Strætó announced an operational deficit of 750 million ISK. Shortly after that, it doubled this estimate. Coming out of the economic disruptions of COVID-19, is Strætó in a position to lead Iceland's energy transition?

Birnir's latest album, Bushido, represents an omnibus of contemporary Icelandic rap music. We talk about hip-hop, family, and what makes Birnir tick.

Pools, hot-tubs, and saunas are an often-flaunted feature of Iceland in the tourism industry. But Iceland's pool culture serves as much more, forming the very stuff of social life for many Icelanders and perhaps even the basis of our democratic ideals.

In 1998, Guðmundur Felix was working as an electronics engineer. One day in January, he set out to do some work on a high-voltage transmission line. The line he was supposed to be working on was powered off, but on that fateful day, Felix reached out and touched a line that was very much powered on. Shocked by 11,000 volts, he fell 8 metres. When he woke up, both his arms had been amputated at the...

With the dust from this fall's leadership turmoil still unsettled, one-third of wage contracts need to be re-negotiated between their trade union and SA, the employers' union. High interest rates and inflation have made this a particularly tricky negotiation round, and we briefly outline why it matters.

Is it just the phones? We take a look at the state of mental health for Iceland's youth.