Editing Reykjavík (section)

==History==
{{see also|Timeline of Reykjavík|History of Iceland}}
[[File:Ingolf by Raadsig.jpg|thumb|left|A painting by Johan [[Peter Raadsig]] of Ingólfr commanding his high seat pillars to be erected]]
[[File:Reykjavik 1860s.jpg|thumb|right|Reykjavík in the 1860s]]
According to legend, the first permanent [[Norsemen|Norse]] settlement in Iceland was established at Reykjavík by [[Ingólfr Arnarson]] circa AD 870, as described in the [[Landnámabók|Book of Settlement]]. Ingólfr is said to have decided the location of his settlement using a traditional Norse method: when land was in sight, he cast his [[öndvegissúlur|high seat pillars]] overboard and promised to settle where the gods decided to bring them ashore. Two of his slaves then searched the coasts for three years before finding the pillars in the bay which eventually became the site of Reykjavík.<ref>{{cite web |author=Jon Gunnar Jørgensen |title=Ingólfr Arnarson Bjǫrnólfsson Ingolv Ørnss |url=https://nbl.snl.no/Ing%C3%B3lfr_Arnarson_Bj%C7%ABrn%C3%B3lfsson_Ingolv_%C3%98rnsson |publisher=Norsk biografisk leksikon |language=no |access-date=20 April 2022}}</ref>

===Etymology===
The name is of [[Old Norse]] origin, derived from the roots {{wikt-lang|non|reykr}} ('smoke') and {{wikt-lang|non|vík}} ('bay'). The name is said to be inspired by steam rising from [[hot spring]]s in the region. The original name was ''Reykja'''r'''-vík'',<ref name="Vísindavefurinn_örnefni">{{cite web|url=http://www.visindavefur.is/svar.php?id=2252|title=Er eitthvert örnefni á höfuðborgarsvæðinu eða vík eða vogur, sem heitir Reykjavík?|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107112309/https://www.visindavefur.is/svar.php?id=2252 |archive-date=7 November 2017|work=Vísindavefurinn|language=is|url-status=live}}</ref> with an "r" [[suffix]] for the [[genitive case|genitive]] [[grammatical number|singular]] of ''reykr''; the modern version ''reykja-'' uses the genitive plural. The name's meaning is still transparent in modern Icelandic, and in modern Norwegian (''røyk'' + ''vik''). The name originally referred to both the bay on the northern shore of the modern city centre, between {{ill|Örfirisey|is}} and [[Laugarnes]], as well as the estate and farm of Ingólfr Arnarson. This form of the name fell out of use shortly after settlement, and the estate was referred to as ''Vík á Seltjarnarnesi'' until the name Reykjavík was revived when urban development began centuries later.<ref name="Vísindavefurinn_örnefni" /> The name has been translated as ''Bay of Smoke'' in English-language travel guides.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Reykjavik |title=Reykjavík |encyclopedia=Britannica}}</ref>

===Urban development===
The site of the modern city centre was farmland until the 18th century. In 1752, [[Frederick V of Denmark|King Frederik V of Denmark]] donated the estate of Reykjavík to the {{ill|Innréttingar|is|Innréttingarnar}} corporation. The leader of this movement was [[Skúli Magnússon]]. In the 1750s, several houses were built to house the [[wool]] industry, which was Reykjavík's most important employer for a few decades and the original reason for its existence. Other industries were undertaken by the Innréttingar, such as [[fishing|fisheries]], [[sulfur|sulphur mining]], agriculture, and shipbuilding.<ref>[http://www.visindavefur.is/svar.php?id=1752 Hvaðan kemur nafnið "Innréttingarnar" á fyrirtækinu sem starfaði hér á á 18. öld?] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160910092150/http://www.visindavefur.is/svar.php?id=1752 |date=10 September 2016}}. Vísindavefur. (in Icelandic)</ref>

The Danish Crown abolished monopoly trading in 1786 and granted six communities around the country an exclusive trading charter. Reykjavík was one of them and the only one to hold on to the charter permanently. 1786 is thus regarded as the date of the city's founding. Trading rights were limited to subjects of the Danish Crown, and Danish traders continued to dominate trade in Iceland. Over the following decades, their business in Iceland expanded. After 1880, [[free trade]] was expanded to all nationalities, and the influence of Icelandic merchants started to grow.

===Rise of nationalism===
[[File:Pg107 Main street of Reykjavik and Governors house.jpg|thumb|Reykjavík in 1881]]
[[File:The meeting – house „Góðtemplarahúsið“ on Templarasund,1923-1935.jpg|thumb|Reykjavík in the 1920s]]
[[Icelandic nationalism|Icelandic nationalist]] sentiment gained influence in the 19th century, and the idea of Icelandic independence became widespread. Reykjavík, as Iceland's only city, was central to such ideas. Advocates of an independent Iceland realized that a strong Reykjavík was fundamental to that objective. All the important events in the history of the independence struggle were important to Reykjavík as well. In 1845 the {{lang|is|[[Althing|Alþingi]]|italic=no}}, the general assembly formed in 930 AD, was re-established in Reykjavík; it had been suspended a few decades earlier when it was located at [[Þingvellir]]. At the time it functioned only as an advisory assembly, advising the king about Icelandic affairs. The location of Alþingi in Reykjavík effectively established the city as the capital of Iceland.

In 1874, Iceland was given a [[constitution]]; with it, Alþingi gained some limited legislative powers and in essence became the institution that it is today. The next step was to move most of the executive power to Iceland: [[Home rule|Home Rule]] was granted in 1904 when the office of [[Prime Minister of Iceland|Minister for Iceland]] was established in Reykjavík. On 1 December 1918, Iceland became a sovereign country, the [[Kingdom of Iceland]], in [[personal union]] with the [[List of Danish monarchs|Crown of Denmark]].

By the 1920s and 1930s, most of the growing Icelandic fishing trawler fleet sailed from Reykjavík; [[cod]] production was its main industry, but the [[Great Depression]] hit Reykjavík hard with [[unemployment]], and labour union struggles sometimes became violent.

===World War II===
On the morning of 10 May 1940, following the German occupation of [[Denmark]] and [[Norway]] on 9 April 1940, four British warships approached Reykjavík and anchored in the harbour. In a few hours, the [[Allies of World War II|Allied]] [[Invasion of Iceland|occupation of Reykjavík]] was complete. There was no armed resistance, and taxi and truck drivers even assisted the invasion force, which initially had no motor vehicles. The Icelandic government had received many requests from the British government to consent to the occupation, but it always declined on the basis of its [[Neutral country|policy of neutrality]]. For the remaining years of [[World War II]], British and later American soldiers occupied camps in Reykjavík, and the number of foreign soldiers in Reykjavík became about the same as the local population of the city.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.marines.mil/Portals/1/Publications/The%20United%20States%20Marines%20in%20Iceland,%201941-1942%20%20PCN%2019000412300.pdf |title=The United States Marines in Iceland, 1941–1942 |publisher=Historical Division Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps |editor-last=Clifford |editor-first=Kenneth J. |location=Washington, DC |date=1970}}</ref> [[The Royal Regiment of Canada]] formed part of the garrison in Iceland during the early part of the war.

The economic effects of the occupation were positive for Reykjavík: the unemployment of the Depression years vanished, and construction work began. The British built [[Reykjavík Airport]], which remains in service today, mostly for short-haul flights (to domestic destinations and Greenland). The Americans, meanwhile, built [[Keflavík International Airport|Keflavík Airport]], situated {{convert|50|km|0|abbr=on}} west of Reykjavík, which became Iceland's primary international airport.<ref>{{cite web |title=About KEF airport |url=https://www.isavia.is/en/keflavik-airport/about-kef |access-date=30 November 2023 |website=www.isavia.is}}</ref> In 1944, the Republic of Iceland was founded and a [[List of Presidents of Iceland|president]], elected by the people, replaced the king; the office of the president was placed in Reykjavík.

===Post-war development===
In the [[post-war]] years, the growth of Reykjavík accelerated. An exodus from the rural countryside began, largely because improved technology in agriculture reduced the need for manpower, and because of a population boom resulting from better living conditions in the country. A once-primitive village was rapidly transformed into a modern city. Private cars became common, and modern apartment complexes rose in the expanding suburbs.

In 1972, Reykjavík hosted the famous [[World Chess Championship 1972|World Chess Championship]] between [[Bobby Fischer]] and [[Boris Spassky]]. The 1986 [[Reykjavík Summit]] between [[Ronald Reagan]] and [[Mikhail Gorbachev]] underlined Reykjavík's international status. [[Deregulation]] in the financial sector and the computer revolution of the 1990s again transformed Reykjavík. The financial and IT sectors are now significant employers in the city.

The city has fostered some world-famous musicians and artists in recent years, including musicians [[Björk]]; [[Múm]] and [[Sigur Rós]]; writer [[Sjón]]; and visual artist [[Ragnar Kjartansson (sculptor)|Ragnar Kjartansson]].