Reykjavík (Icelandic pronunciation: [ˈreiːcaˌviːk] ( listen)) is the capital and largest city in Iceland.
Its latitude, at 64°08' N, makes it the world's northernmost capital of a sovereign state. It is located in southwestern Iceland, on the southern shore of Faxaflói Bay. With a population of around 120,000 (and over 200,000 in the Greater Reykjavík Area), it is the heart of Iceland's economic and governmental activity.
Reykjavík is believed to be the location of the first permanent settlement in Iceland, which Ingólfur Arnarson is said to have established around 870 C.E. Until the 18th century, there was no urban development in the city location. The city was founded in 1786 as an official trading town and grew steadily over the next decades, as it transformed into a regional and later national centre of commerce, population, and governmental activities.
The first permanent settlement in Iceland by Norsemen is believed to have been established in Reykjavík by Ingólfur Arnarson around AD 870; this is described in Landnámabók, or the Book of Settlement. Ingólfur Arnarson is said to have decided the location of his settlement using a traditional Viking method; by casting his high seat pillars (Öndvegissúlur) into the ocean when he saw the coastline, then settled where the pillars came to shore. Steam from hot springs in the region is said to have inspired Reykjavík's name, which loosely translates to Smoke Cove (the city is often referred to as the Bay of Smokes or Bay of Smoke) The original name was Reykjarvík with an additional "r" that vanished around 1300.[citation needed]
Jón Gnarr Kristinsson (Icelandic pronunciation: [ˈjouːn ˈknar̥ː]; born 2 January 1967) is an Icelandic actor, comedian, politician and the Mayor of Reykjavík since 15 June 2010. Born Jón Gunnar Kristinsson, Jón legally changed his middle name in 2005 to the way his mother pronounced it when he was a boy. He is married to Jóhanna "Jóga" Jóhannsdóttir.
Jón Gnarr was diagnosed with severe mental retardation as a child and was treated between the ages of 5-7 at the children's psychiatry ward at the State Hospital at Dalbraut, Reykjavík. He suffers from dyslexia and had learning difficulties as a child. Jón Gnarr recounts these experiences in his book The Indian, an autobiographical account of his childhood. Jón Gnarr has been diagnosed with ADHD and has actively discussed his life with ADHD publicly, participated in conventions on ADHD and published articles about his experiences as an ADHD sufferer.
Jón was known as Jónsi Punk as a teenager and punk rocker playing bass in a punk band called Nefrennsli ("Runny Nose"). While attending a number of high schools, he didn't complete the university entrance exam, Stúdentspróf. As a young man, he held jobs with car maker Volvo and drove a taxi in Reykjavík. During the 1980s Jón and Jóhanna became acquainted with the members of the Reykjavík-based alternative rock band the Sugarcubes, including Björk Guðmundsdóttir and Einar Örn Benediktsson. Björk remained a close friend to Jóhanna, dedicating a song to her on her 1997 album Homogenic, while Einar would prove to be an important political ally to Jón in the years to come.
Katrín Jakobsdóttir (pronounced [ˈkʰaːtrin ˈjaːkʰɔpstouhtɪr]) (born 1 February 1976) is an Icelandic politician and a member of the Althing (Iceland's parliament) for the Reykjavík North constituency since 2007. She is vice-chairman of the Left-Green Movement and Iceland's Minister of Education, Science and Culture.
Katrín graduated from the University of Iceland in 1999 with a degree in Icelandic and French. She received her M.A. from the same university in 2004 for a dissertation on the work of popular Icelandic crime writer Arnaldur Indriðason.