Cultural Iceland
Settlement
Iceland was the last country in Europe to be settled. To this day, it is one of the most sparsely populated counties in the world.
Located in the middle of the North Atlantic, Iceland was settled by emigrants from Scandinavia and the British Isles in the tenth century. Due to Iceland's geographical location, it was mostly outside the influence of contemporary culture in Europe and America, until the late nineteenth century.
Isolation and Tradition
Icelandic culture has been shaped by isolation and the extreme forces of nature. These conditions have created a resilient people, where family ties are close, the sense of tradition is strong, and the bond with nature is tight. While strongly rooted in customs and traditions, today's Icelandic society is both modern and progressive.
A small country by most measures, Iceland has a high standard of living, extensive political freedom, and has taken an active role in sustainable development and commitment to the environment.
Literature
Through the centuries, Iceland has developed a unique tradition for storytelling and literature, beginning with the esteemed Icelandic Sagas of the tenth and eleventh century. In this fertile environment, Iceland has produced a number of talented writers including Nobel Prize laureate, Halldór Laxness (1955). It is no accident that Iceland's capital, Reykjavík, was the first non-English speaking city in the world to be named a UNESCO City of Literature in 2011.