Alþingishúsið

The Alþingishúsið is built from hewn Icelandic dolerite, a dark, volcanic rock that gives the structure a somber, heavy appearance against the bright sky. Completed in eighteen eighty-one, it serves as the home of the national parliament. Architect Ferdinand Meldahl designed it for a country still governed by Denmark, importing the stone from local quarries. When the building opened, it housed not only the legislature but also the national library and the museum of antiquities, cramming Iceland's entire intellectual life into one basalt box.