The Parliament House
On the right side of the building there is a statue of Ingibjorg H. Bjarnason - the first woman to become a member of the Icelandic Parliament in 1922.
Alþingishúsið, The Parliament House, is a classical 19th century structure which stands by Austurvöllur (a public square) in central Reykjavík, Iceland. It houses Alþingi, the Icelandic parliament. The building was designed by Danish architect Ferdinand Meldahl and built using hewn dolerite from 1880 to 1881.
The reliefs on the tympanums of the four outermost windows on the first floor represent the four Landvættir of Iceland: a dragon, a vulture, a giant and a bull, momentarily appeased by Ingólfur Arnarson when he first landed in Iceland.
Alþingishúsið has also housed the Icelandic National Library and Antiquaries Collection, and later the Icelandic National Gallery. The University of Iceland used the first floor of the house from 1911 to 1940, and the President of Iceland had his offices in the building until 1973.
Today, only the debating chamber, a few small meeting rooms and the offices of some of the senior parliamentary staff are actually located in Alþingishúsið. Committee meeting rooms, parliamentarians’ offices and most of Alþingi's secretariat are located in other buildings in the area around Austurvöllur. (Wikipedia)
The Parliament House
On the right side of the building there is a statue of Ingibjorg H. Bjarnason - the first woman to become a member of the Icelandic Parliament in 1922.
Alþingishúsið, The Parliament House, is a classical 19th century structure which stands by Austurvöllur (a public square) in central Reykjavík, Iceland. It houses Alþingi, the Icelandic parliament. The building was designed by Danish architect Ferdinand Meldahl and built using hewn dolerite from 1880 to 1881.
The reliefs on the tympanums of the four outermost windows on the first floor represent the four Landvættir of Iceland: a dragon, a vulture, a giant and a bull, momentarily appeased by Ingólfur Arnarson when he first landed in Iceland.
Alþingishúsið has also housed the Icelandic National Library and Antiquaries Collection, and later the Icelandic National Gallery. The University of Iceland used the first floor of the house from 1911 to 1940, and the President of Iceland had his offices in the building until 1973.
Today, only the debating chamber, a few small meeting rooms and the offices of some of the senior parliamentary staff are actually located in Alþingishúsið. Committee meeting rooms, parliamentarians’ offices and most of Alþingi's secretariat are located in other buildings in the area around Austurvöllur. (Wikipedia)