Iceland is a Nordic island country between the North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is linked culturally and politically with Europe and is the region's most sparsely populated country. Its capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which is home to about 36% of the country's roughly 380,000 residents. The official language of the country is Icelandic.
Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage, transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic beverages. The word is also used to refer to a period of time during which such bans are enforced.
Egill's Saga or Egil's saga is an Icelandic saga on the lives of the clan of Egill Skallagrímsson, an Icelandic farmer, viking and skald. The saga spans the years c. 850–1000 and traces the family's history from Egill's grandfather to his offspring.
Siglufjörður is a small fishing town in a narrow fjord with the same name on the northern coast of Iceland.
Borgarnes is a town located on a peninsula at the shore of Borgarfjörður in Iceland and is the largest town in the Borgarbyggð municipality with a population of about 3800 residents. It is a main junction in Iceland and the gateway to the Snaefellsnes National Park. Iceland's capital Reykjavík is 69 kilometers from the center of Borgarnes. The second largest bridge in Iceland, the Borgarfjarðarbrú, connects traffic to and from Reykjavík.
Egil Skallagrímsson was a Viking Age war poet, sorcerer, berserker, and farmer. He is known mainly as the anti-hero of Egil's Saga. Egil's Saga historically narrates a period from approximately 850 to 1000 AD and is believed to have been written between 1220 and 1240 AD.
The Besta deild karla is the top level men's football league in Iceland. The competition was founded in 1912 as the Icelandic Championship. Because of the harsh winters in Iceland, it is generally played in the spring and summer. It is governed by the Football Association of Iceland (KSI) and has 12 teams. By end of season 2022–23, UEFA ranked the league No. 48 in Europe.
Malt beer is a sweet, low-alcohol beer that is brewed like regular beer but with low or minimal fermentation. To keep the alcohol content low, one of two methods may be used: either the yeast is added at about 0 °C or fermentation is halted at the desired alcohol content. It is made from barley malt syrup, sugar, yeast, hops, and water.
Olgerdin is an Icelandic brewery and beverage company based in Reykjavík. Established on 17 April 1913, the oldest beer-producing factory in Iceland. Annually, it produces 45 million liters of beverages. The brewery is named for Egill Skallagrímsson, an early inhabitant of Iceland and main character of Egil's Saga.
The settlement of Iceland is generally believed to have begun in the second half of the ninth century, when Norse settlers migrated across the North Atlantic. The reasons for the migration are uncertain: later in the Middle Ages Icelanders themselves tended to cite civil strife brought about by the ambitions of the Norwegian king Harald I of Norway, but modern historians focus on deeper factors, such as a shortage of arable land in Scandinavia. Unlike Great Britain and Ireland, Iceland was unsettled land and could be claimed without conflict with existing inhabitants.
The cuisine of Iceland has a long history. Important parts of Icelandic cuisine are lamb, dairy, and fish, the latter due to the fact that Iceland has traditionally been inhabited only near its coastline. Popular foods in Iceland include skyr, hangikjöt, kleinur, laufabrauð, and bollur. Þorramatur is a traditional buffet served at midwinter festivals called Þorrablót; it includes a selection of traditionally cured meat and fish products served with rúgbrauð and brennivín. The flavors of this traditional country food originate in its preservation methods: pickling in fermented whey or brine, drying, and smoking.
Whaling in Iceland began with spear-drift hunting as early as the 12th century, and continued in a vestigial form until the late 19th century, when other countries introduced modern commercial practices. Today, Iceland is one of a handful of countries that formally object to an ongoing moratorium established by the International Whaling Commission in 1986, and that still maintain a whaling fleet. One company remains concentrated on hunting fin whales, largely for export to Japan, while the only other one previously hunted minke whales for domestic consumption until 2020, as the meat was popular with tourists. In 2018, Hvalur hf whalers killed a rare blue whale/fin whale hybrid.
Isavia ohf. is the national airport and air navigation service provider of Iceland. The company operates all public airports and air navigation services in a vast area in the north-eastern Atlantic. The company headquarters is at Reykjavík Airport in Reykjavík.
2. deild karla is a football league in Iceland. It is the third division in the Icelandic football league system. The current champions are Afturelding from Mosfellsbær, who won their 1st title in 2018.
In Iceland, Beer Day is celebrated every year on March 1, honoring the elimination of the 74-year prohibition of beer. Prohibition lasted from January 1, 1915 to March 1, 1989.
Prohibition in Iceland went into effect in 1915 and lasted, to some extent, until 1 March 1989. The ban had originally prohibited all alcohol, but from 1922 legalized wine and in 1935 legalized all alcoholic beverages except beer with more than 2.25% alcohol content. As in many other states with prohibition, "illegal brewing and smuggling of alcoholic beverages were widespread during the ban."
ON Power, is an Icelandic power company, headquartered in Reykjavík, that produces and sells electricity to industry and households by harnessing renewable, mainly geothermal, resources. ON Power also provides water for space heating in Reykjavík and surrounding areas. Traditionally, ON Power's main service area is Reykjavík and surrounding areas in the south-west part of Iceland, although households and businesses can buy electricity from any supplier in Iceland, regardless of location.
Trapped is an Icelandic television mystery drama series, created by Baltasar Kormákur and produced by RVK Studios. Broadcast in Iceland on RÚV started on 27 December 2015. Co-written by Sigurjón Kjartansson and Clive Bradley, the first series of ten episodes follows Andri Ólafsson, the chief of police in a remote town in Iceland, solving the murder of a former townsman whose mutilated corpse is recovered by fishermen. The series was directed by Kormákur, Baldvin Z, Óskar Thor Axelsson and Börkur Sigthorsson.
Viking Beer is an Icelandic brand, brewed by CCEP "Víking Brewery". The brewery is located in Akureyri, Iceland, just south of the Arctic Circle.
Appelsín is a fizzy orange-flavored soft drink, manufactured by Egill Skallagrímsson Brewery in Iceland since 1955. The products are accompanied by the slogan ‚hið eina sanna‘, meaning 'the one and only‘. During Christmas time, it's traditionally mixed with Malt (Maltextrakt), called Jólaöl, also available pre-mixed. To prevent the foam from overflowing, the Appelsín can be poured before the Malt.
