In Iceland, there is practically no such thing as a surname; mostly they are citizens of foreign origin (10% of the population). The analogues of the surname are the patronym (a form derived from the name of the father) or matronym (the form derived from the name of the mother) with the prefix son - for men and dóttir - for women. For example, Björk Gudmundsdottir (daughter of Gudmund) is a famous Icelandic singer and composer. In rare cases, there is a combination of patronymic and matronymic.

Crime in Iceland is practically zero. The police here do not bother to carry weapons, and mothers leave strollers with children right on the street. Therefore, do not be surprised if you see babies sleeping in a stroller near cafes or shops.

Locals prefer to leave their babies outside so that they can sleep peacefully and breathe fresh air.

The Icelandic Parliament is the oldest in Europe. For the first time, the so-called Althing (from Icelandic “general assembly”) took place in 930 on the territory of the modern Thingvellir National Park, which is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. Meetings here continued until 1798.

Now the Althingi Iceland building is located in Reykjavik. It is a unicameral parliament with 63 deputies.

Iceland is a country with a unique landscape. This is a volcanic plateau with peaks up to 2 km, hot springs, active volcanoes, geysers; 11.8 thousand km² out of a total area of ​​103 thousand km² are covered by glaciers.

Despite the photographs of Iceland's mountain peaks that you may have seen, the country does not actually have a single full-fledged mountain. If you look closely at the photographs, you can see that almost all the mountains and hills have a flat top, because they, like their valleys, appeared due to glaciers. Iceland has been literally "carved out" by glaciers that have formed deep valleys and high mountain ranges. The country is also home to a number of volcanoes that the uninformed observer might mistake for mountains.

Iceland is one of the most environmentally friendly countries in the world. It is full of volcanoes, allowing the locals to use geothermal energy sources. Plus, Icelanders can also use abundant waterways as sources of energy. The country practically does not burn fossil fuels.

Iceland is one of two places on the planet where you can observe the divergence of the plates (North American and Eurasian) not only under water, but also on the surface. Every year the gap between them increases by about 2 cm. Also, in the region of the northern coast of the country, divers have the opportunity to swim in the place of their fault.

Prohibition was in effect in Iceland from 1915 to 1989; at the same time, for the last 54 years, it has extended only to beer. Therefore, after the lifting of the ban, beer gained unprecedented popularity in the country. Beer Day is celebrated annually on March 1st. As part of the celebration, Icelanders consume a huge amount of this drink. It is also worth noting that beer can only be purchased at state-run liquor stores. Independent sellers are prohibited from selling alcohol in the country.

In addition to beer, Icelanders are not indifferent to sauces and gravies, which are added to almost all dishes.

Regardless of the temperature outside, Icelanders barbecue. The grill here is not hidden in a closet even in winter; it is used all year round. And of course, grilled foods will be generously drizzled with your favorite sauces or gravies.

In Iceland, nudity is not condemned. Locals are absolutely not shy about being naked in public. Mostly naked people can be seen at the geothermal pools, which are in abundance here.

Pause and speak out loud. You spoke on the exhale, right? Another thing that distinguishes the Icelanders is that they pronounce some words and even whole phrases not on the exhale, but on the inhale. This is typical of other Northern European languages ​​as well.

There are practically no trees in Iceland. Only a few species grow here. Many of the trees were cut down by the first settlers to build houses.

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Iceland is a country of unique natural beauties, glaciers and volcanoes with hard-to-pronounce names like Eyjafjallajokull, people with pale blue eyes and white hair in woolen sweaters and a measured pace of life. Today, Babr offers to learn more about this country, which is beginning to be considered an ideal state and paradise on Earth:

1. Outside the South Pacific, there is no other ethnic group that is so small in number and yet has its own, fully independent nation-state. The population of this country is about 320 thousand, of which 190 thousand live in the suburbs or in the capital of Iceland, Reykjavik. Akureyri, the second largest city in Iceland - known as the local Barcelona - is famous for its cultural life and nightlife. Its population is 16 thousand.

2. Rest of the country sparsely populated , it is occupied by treeless desert spaces with volcanoes, waterfalls, strange heaps of stones, smoking plateaus with frozen lava, geysers, glaciers and icebergs - spaces that look like the very edge of the earth, as if, having crossed the border of Tibet, you go to the seashore.

3. The most popular names in Iceland are: male - Yon and female - Guvrun. Also, ancient mythological names are still common, for example, Aðalsteinn, which means "Main Stone".

4. Instead of surnames in Iceland - patronymics, that is, an analogue of our patronymic. The particle “sleep” (that is, son) or “dottir” (if it is a daughter) is added to the name of the father, for example, Greta Johannsdottir, that is, Greta daughter of Johanna, is added. In the phone book, there are names of people on the list, and they are all the same: Johann Magmisson, Magnus Johannsson. They distinguish each other because they know each other.

5. The language of Iceland has not changed much over the past 1000 years, so there are letters in it that have disappeared from English, plus the inhabitants of the country can read the old ones without any problems. original viking sagas.

Photographs of the space landscapes of Iceland, taken from a bird's eye view.

6. The local population in general loves to read Today, according to some sources, Icelanders are the most reading people in the world.

7. Almost the entire population of Iceland registered on facebook . Even if an Icelander doesn't have a Facebook profile for some reason, they can still be easily found online. All residents of the country, of their own free will, register on the website www.ja.is, where they indicate their first and last name, phone number, address and place on the map where their house is located.

8. Residents of Reykjavik for the most part terribly parked , can throw the car right across the street. The presence of tow trucks and fines for parking in the wrong place do little to help.

9. This is the country where violence is not practiced : there is no army in Iceland, the police do not carry weapons, they are not given pistols, low crime. There, on holidays, prisoners are released from prisons to their homes, with the exception of especially dangerous ones; small children walk around the city alone; the doors of houses are often not locked; car keys are thrown in cars, and children in strollers are left unattended at the entrance to a cafe, bar or shop.

10. You can meet the President of the country in line at the economy class supermarket , the Prime Minister's phone number is published in the directory, the mayor walks his dog without guards, and everyone has seen Björk on the streets of the city at least once. She calmly walks with her daughter, and no one touches her.

The official Instagram of the Reykjavik Police consists entirely of photos,
where they eat cotton candy, play with teddy bears and take selfies.

11. In Iceland, if a person is well disposed towards you, he demonstrates this by the fact that something and the matter concerns you.

12. In Reykjavik, it is considered normal to go to the nearest grocery store in pajamas.

13. There are an order of magnitude more blondes in Iceland than brunettes, so local residents like to dye their hair a darker shade .

14. In order to spend the night with an Icelandic girl, long courtship is not required, most Icelandic women, as they say, easy going, which is why Italians and Spaniards love to come to Reykjavik so much.

15. Icelanders are very tolerant, in Reykjavik regularly gay pride parade , homosexual marriages have been allowed here since 2010, and the percentage of bisexuals in the country is very high.

Mayor of Reykjavik, Jon Gnarr at the opening of gay parades
in 2010 and 2012, disguised as a woman

16. in Iceland no McDonald's restaurants , the latter closed in 2008 during the crisis.

17. The price of wine in Iceland is often determined not by the year of its production or quality, but by the strength. Thus, expensive but light French wine can be much cheaper than 15 degree chatter.

18. In Iceland, licorice is very popular, it is added to any dishes, plus chocolates with licorice filling are produced here.

19. Iceland's national dish haukarl- rotten meat of the Greenland shark, cut into small pieces.

20. For most Icelanders very bad teeth , while Iceland is one of the main sugar-consuming countries, and Coca-Cola is also very popular here.

In Iceland, they eat mostly fish, while all dishes are poured over the top with mayonnaise, mustard and ketchup, after which the real taste of fish can not be recognized.

21. The most popular specialties in Iceland are - artist, musician or designer . Every second bartender or waiter tries to get an education in a creative specialty, and at the same time plays in some kind of rock or folk group.

22. For the reason described above, no one uses the services of designers, for example, to come up with the design of an apartment or a wedding dress. The inhabitants of Iceland are sure that each of them is his own artist. , therefore, they prefer to invent the interior of the apartment and the design of the dress on their own.

23. Repairs in apartments are also done mainly with their own hands, not hiring workers .

24. Cold water can be drunk directly from the tap, this is water from local thermal springs. But hot tap water in Iceland smells like rotten eggs . The fact is that it also enters the water supply system directly from hot thermal springs, and they are rich in hydrogen sulfide.

25. Residents of Reykjavik affectionately call their town the most boring place on earth . Among the attractions: Martian landscapes, heated ocean water on Nightholsvik Beach, a folk arthouse cinema where a documentary about Pussy Riot is played every evening, bars, concerts, whale sushi and a pipe museum - drunken members of a sperm whale, a dolphin and a humpback whale (two meters), as well as the genitals of a brave 95-year-old Icelandic farmer and casts of members of the entire national handball team of Iceland y. You can also fry a steak on a disposable grill in the city center on the sidewalk, eat the most popular dish on the island - a hot dog and swim to Greenland. In general, everything.

Reykjavik. There are no trains, metro or even a monorail. Three-story houses, bright
rooftops, faded walls covered in legal street art.

And finally, we want to give a few more facts about Iceland and its inhabitants. This is how the American writer Eliot Weinberger saw them:

“...Iceland has created the most ideal society on earth - one from which the rest of the world has nothing to learn. Because this implausible Utopia is a fluke of history and geography that cannot be surpassed, cannot be replicated anywhere else.

They bake bread in the ground; they prefer to eat rancid shark meat. They don't know about pesticides. Almost all women give birth to their first child before marriage. They don't allow dogs to be kept in the capital. Their eyes are that same pale blue, the same color as the icebergs. They believe in the Hidden People. Their horses grow long hair in winter and sleep lying down.

I have never seen so many different types of moss. There is no unemployment or poverty here. There is no conspicuous wealth either; education is provided here. Production and consumption per capita here is much higher than in other states. People live here longer than in most other countries of the world. The environment is not polluted here: the whole country uses geothermal heating.

They have one television station, one well-known director, one Nobel Prize-winning novelist, one internationally renowned rock star...”

In Iceland, weapons are freely circulated, but the level of violent crime is extremely low - one of the lowest in the world.

US law student Andrew Clark tried to figure out why.

I grew up in New England, but I have never seen such a snowstorm as in Iceland. Demonic gusts of wind knock you off your feet, and snowflakes cut like razors. I was dragging my suitcases down the snowy streets of Reykjavik with the last of my strength when a jeep pulled up next to me.

"Would you like a ride?" asked the older man behind the wheel. Madness, I thought. Get into a stranger's car? But discarding everything I was taught about other people's uncles, I immediately climbed into the back seat. And I was not afraid that something would happen to me. Because this is Iceland. And I came here to find out why there is so little crime here.

I am a law student at Suffolk University in Boston majoring in international law. A year ago, I knew for sure that I would write a thesis on cyber warfare and the Geneva Convention. But in August 2012, I visited Reykjavik, and a week spent in Iceland changed everything.

Unbelievable but true: there is virtually no violent crime. People are not afraid either for themselves or for their children - to the point that the kids run around the streets unattended. I have been to Norway, Sweden, Denmark, but next to Iceland these countries seem very dangerous.

Therefore, when I returned to America, I changed the topic of my diploma. I was interested to know how the Icelanders achieved one of the lowest violent crime rates in the world. Let me tell you straight away: there is no clear answer to this question.

According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Global Homicide Survey 2011, between 1999 and 2009 the homicide rate in Iceland did not exceed 1.8 homicides per 100,000 population. In the United States, similar rates for the same period ranged from 5.0 to 5.8 murders per 100,000.

Number of murders committed in 2009:

Brazil - 43909
Denmark - 47

UK - 724
USA - 15241
Source: UNODC Global Homicide Survey

By talking to professors, officials, lawyers, journalists and citizens, I was able to identify key factors influencing the Icelandic crime situation.

First - and perhaps the main one: in Iceland there is practically no difference between the upper, middle and lower classes. This means that there are no conflicts between them, which is a very rare occurrence. The University of Missouri conducted a study of the Icelandic class system.

So, only 1.1% of Icelanders who took part in the survey said that they belong to the upper class, and only 1.5% - that they belong to the lower class. The remaining 97% described themselves as upper middle, lower middle or working class.

While visiting the Althing, the Icelandic parliament, I met with Bjorgvin Sigurdsson, former chairman of the Social Democratic Alliance faction. In his opinion, as in the opinion of many Icelanders with whom I spoke, equality is the main reason for the low crime rate in the country.

"Our tycoon kids go to the same schools as everyone else," Sigurdsson says, adding that the Icelandic education and social welfare systems deliberately cultivate egalitarianism.

Many Icelanders own pistols and shotguns, but gun crime is extremely rare

Crimes in Iceland, if they already occur, are mostly without the use of firearms, although there are many of them in the country. According to GunPolicy.org, there are about 90,000 guns per 300,000 inhabitants in Iceland. The country ranks 15th in the world in terms of the number of legal weapons per capita.

However, it is not so easy to acquire it: in particular, for this you need to undergo a medical examination and pass a written test. At the same time, the Icelandic police do not carry firearms - this is the prerogative of the Viking special squad. And he doesn't get called that often.

In addition, there are very few drug addicts in Iceland. According to UNODC, as of 2012, only 0.9% of Icelanders aged 15 to 64 used cocaine, 0.5% used ecstasy and 0.7% used amphetamines. In 1973, when drug addiction was rampant, Parliament created a separate police unit and a separate court to deal with it. During the first decade of their work, 90% of the perpetrators were punished with fines.

Also in Iceland, crime prevention is well developed: they try to solve potentially dangerous situations at an early stage. Now the police are working to eradicate organized crime completely, while the deputies of the Althing are considering laws that will help them in this.

In a word, there are a lot of things worthy of imitation in Iceland.

That's why I felt safe getting into a stranger's jeep that morning. And I was not mistaken: the driver just smiled and asked if he could help me with the luggage.

Fine for downed moss, stinky water and puffin birds.

Iceland is an amazing and unrealistically interesting country of fjords, waterfalls and space landscapes. But even in Iceland, how expensive it is, before sex it is better to find out if you are relatives with a girl, and the wind can tear off the car door. We have collected some of the most interesting facts about this country.

1. Driving like in Russia is not worth it

   The speed limit on the highway is 90 kilometers per hour, but even at this speed it is sometimes scary. The weather can change dramatically from sun to hurricane and back, so always drive with your seat belt fastened and your headlights on. In Iceland, there is even a special phone by which you can find out the state of the roads.

   By the way, the most common non-insurance event is a flying car door. Yes, it can simply be pulled sharply by the wind, as a result of which a dent awaits your car.

   

2. Pressed down the moss - pay a fine

   Therefore, if you are traveling around Iceland by car, in no case do not pull over to the side of the road or something that looks like moss. Moss is a national treasure, it grows back from scratch in 70 years. And for crushed moss, you can run into a fine from 500 to 3000 euros.

   

3. Before having sex, you should check if you are relatives.

   Only 320 thousand people live on the island, and many of them are relatives. To avoid incest, the Icelanders have come up with a special application in which you can check if you are related to a girl you met in a bar.

4. Human work is expensive, so much is automated

   For example, a hotel may not have a check-in desk - instead, they will simply send you a door code by mail. At the expense of the cafe you have to go to the counter, in museums - audio guides in a bunch of languages. Because live guides and waitresses have to pay money, and decent money.

   

5. Iceland is very safe

   Because the immigration influx is small. In the eastern part of the country, cars in parking lots and the doors of houses are not locked, murders are only 1.3 per year. The police only walk around with a baton. When they first shot a violent man who was firing a gun, they worried for a very long time: after all, they wanted to hit him in the leg, but they hit him in the head.

   

6. Geothermal tap water

   They use it for heating, and cold water - from glaciers. True, there is one minus: hot geothermal tap water smells of hydrogen sulfide (read: rotten eggs), which is not very pleasant. But geothermal energy is used for a lot of things: for heating greenhouses, and for creating unusual restaurants with food on geothermal energy.

   

7. There are very few trees in Iceland

   There are dwarf birch trees, and the locals also plant something. The absence of trees is a consequence of the fact that pigs and sheep badly spoiled the soil, which, because of the ashes, is not that cool to live. Livestock grazing is now restricted. They say that in a hundred and 12% of the island will be green again.

   

8. Everyone goes crazy on dead ends

   These are such cute birds that look like toys. There are a lot of souvenirs with puffins, tourists are taken to places on the island where puffins nest, and they are also eaten. It's hard to understand how you can eat such a cute bird, but the locals say that puffins have very tasty meat.

   

9. Icelanders know 4 languages ​​by adulthood

   Children, of course, learn basic Icelandic - they cherish it in the country and therefore teach it. At the age of 6, the study of English as a second basic language is added. At the age of 12, children begin to learn Danish. At 16 - French, Spanish or another language of your choice. Thanks to this, you will not have problems with communication in Iceland.

10. Icelanders export nature views

    It is really amazing in the country: fjords, geysers, caves, glacial lakes, waterfalls, black beaches - which is just not in Iceland. The natural beauties of Iceland very often appear in movies and TV shows - for example, in the same Game of Thrones.

    

    

    

In Iceland, weapons are freely circulated, but the level of violent crime is extremely low - one of the lowest in the world. US law student Andrew Clark tried to figure out why.

I grew up in New England, but I have never seen such a snowstorm as in Iceland. Demonic gusts of wind knock you off your feet, and snowflakes cut like razors.

I was dragging my suitcases down the snowy streets of Reykjavik with the last of my strength when a jeep pulled up next to me.

"Would you like a ride?" asked the older man behind the wheel.

Madness, I thought. Get into a stranger's car?

But discarding everything I was taught about other people's uncles, I immediately climbed into the back seat. And I was not afraid that something would happen to me.

Because this is Iceland. And I came here to find out why there is so little crime here.

I am a law student at Suffolk University in Boston majoring in international law.

A year ago, I knew for sure that I would write a thesis on cyber warfare and the Geneva Convention.

But in August 2012, I visited Reykjavik, and a week spent in Iceland changed everything.

Unbelievable but true: there is virtually no violent crime. People are not afraid either for themselves or for their children - to the point that the kids run around the streets unattended.

I have been to Norway, Sweden, Denmark, but next to Iceland these countries seem very dangerous.

Therefore, when I returned to America, I changed the topic of my diploma.

I was interested to know how the Icelanders achieved one of the lowest violent crime rates in the world.

Let me tell you straight away: there is no clear answer to this question.

According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Global Homicide Survey 2011, between 1999 and 2009 the homicide rate in Iceland did not exceed 1.8 homicides per 100,000 population.

In the United States, similar rates for the same period ranged from 5.0 to 5.8 murders per 100,000.

Number of murders committed in 2009:

• Brazil - 43909
• Denmark - 47
• Iceland - 1
• UK - 724
• USA - 15241

Source: UNODC Global Homicide Survey

By talking to professors, officials, lawyers, journalists and citizens, I was able to identify key factors influencing the Icelandic crime situation.

First - and perhaps the main one: in Iceland there is practically no difference between the upper, middle and lower classes. This means that there are no conflicts between them, which is a very rare occurrence.

The University of Missouri conducted a study of the Icelandic class system. So, only 1.1% of Icelanders who took part in the survey said that they belong to the upper class, and only 1.5% - that they belong to the lower class.

The remaining 97% described themselves as upper middle, lower middle or working class.

While visiting the Althing, the Icelandic parliament, I met with Bjorgvin Sigurdsson, former chairman of the Social Democratic Alliance faction. In his opinion, as in the opinion of many Icelanders with whom I spoke, equality is the main reason for the low crime rate in the country.

"Our tycoon kids go to the same schools as everyone else," Sigurdsson says, adding that the Icelandic education and social welfare systems deliberately cultivate egalitarianism.

Crimes in Iceland, if they already occur, are mostly without the use of firearms, although there are many of them in the country.

According to GunPolicy.org, there are about 90,000 guns per 300,000 inhabitants in Iceland.

The country ranks 15th in the world in terms of the number of legal weapons per capita. However, it is not so easy to acquire it: in particular, for this you need to undergo a medical examination and pass a written test.

At the same time, the Icelandic police do not carry firearms - this is the prerogative of the Viking special squad. And he doesn't get called that often.

In addition, there are very few drug addicts in Iceland.

According to UNODC, as of 2012, only 0.9% of Icelanders aged 15 to 64 used cocaine, 0.5% used ecstasy and 0.7% used amphetamines.

In 1973, when drug addiction was rampant, Parliament created a separate police unit and a separate court to deal with it.

During the first decade of their work, 90% of the perpetrators were punished with fines.

Also in Iceland, crime prevention is well developed: they try to solve potentially dangerous situations at an early stage.

Now the police are working to eradicate organized crime completely, while the deputies of the Althing are considering laws that will help them in this.

In a word, there are a lot of things worthy of imitation in Iceland.

That's why I felt safe getting into a stranger's jeep that morning. And I was not mistaken: the driver just smiled and asked if he could help me with the luggage.