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Location Information:
Reykjavík is the capital and largest
city of Iceland. Its latitude at
64°08' N makes it the world's
northernmost capital of a sovereign
state. It is located in southwestern
Iceland, on the southern shore of
Faxaflói Bay. With a population of
around 120,000 (and over 200,000 in
the Greater Reykjavík Area) it is
the heart of Iceland's economic and
governmental activity.
Reykjavík is believed to be the
location of the first permanent
settlement in Iceland, which
Ingólfur Arnarson is said to have
established around 870. Until the
18th century, there was no urban
development in the city location.
The city was founded in 1786 as an
official trading town and grew
steadily over the next decades, as
it transformed into a regional and
later national centre of commerce,
population and governmental
activities.
Today,
Reykjavík is the centre of the
Greater Reykjavík Area, which is the
only metropolitan area in Iceland,
with a population of 202,000. As a
highly modernized capital of one of
the most developed countries in the
world, its inhabitants enjoy a
first-class welfare system and city
infrastructure. Its location, only 2
degrees south of the Arctic Circle,
receives a maximum of only four
hours of daylight on the shortest
day in the depth of winter; during
the summer the nights are almost as
bright as the days. Its was the sole
goal of the government to make
Reykjavik into international
financial center for many years
until that dream make to a end in
the wake of the global financial
crisis but it has continued to see
population growth in past years as
well as growth in areas of commerce
and industry. Reykjavík was ranked
first on Grist Magazine's "15
Greenest Cities" list in 2008.
Reykjavík's mayor is currently Jón
Gnarr, who assumed office on 15 June
2010.
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