The Althingi District

The Althingi of Iceland, the world’s oldest legislative assembly, was established at Thingvellir (“Parliament Fields”) in the year 930, 1,095 years ago. Since 1881, when the current parliamentary building in central Reykjavík was constructed, the national parliament has operated at Kirkjustræti by Austurvöllur square. In recent years and decades, the activities of Althingi have expanded significantly, and now all the buildings in the district between Reykjavíkurtjörn pond and Austurvöllur—bordered by Kirkjustræti, Vonarstræti, Templarasund, and Tjarnargata—serve as office spaces for parliamentary operations, except for one: the Oddfellow House on Vonarstræti. The newest building, Smidjan (“The Forge”), a newly constructed office space for parliamentarians, was inaugurated around the turn of the year 2023–24. The building, which won an international competition, was designed by Studio Granda, led by architects Margrét Hardardóttir, and Steve Christer. They also designed Reykjavík City Hall, which stands across from Smidjan. The oldest building in the district dates back to 1880 and is thus one year older than the Althingi building itself.

There are just over a hundred parliamentary staff members, in addition to party staff, ministerial assistants, and various experts. There are 63 members of Althingi—plus one, as the Minister of Finance, Mr Dadi Már Kristófersson, is not a sitting member of parliament. Icelandic Times took a tour around the Althingi district.