29.8.2004

Last Saturday a ceremony was held to mark Þingvellir´s inscription upon the World Heritage List. Mr.Björn Bjarnason chairman of the Þingvellir Committe and Mr. Francesco Bandarin Director of UNESCO’s World Heritage Centre unveiled a plaque with the World Heritage Emblem. On the plaque is also the text:

“Þingvellir has been inscribed upon the World Heritage List of the Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage. Inscription on this List confirms the exceptional universal value of Þingvellir which deserves protection for the benefit of all humanity.

Þingvellir is a protected national park, regarded by Icelanders as the shrine of their nationhood. It has been inscribed on the World Heritage List for its cultural and historical significance, its unique natural environment and its remarkable geology on the boundary of the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates.

As the site of Iceland’s ancient legal and judicial assembly, the Alþing, Þingvellir embodies Viking age concepts of social structure, law and authority. On these values the early settlers of Iceland shaped a new society, accompanied by a remarkable flowering of literary culture. Þingvellir contributes to, and symbolizes, the Icelandic national identity.“

After speeches at the visitor centre where the plaque is located guests paraded down the Almannagjá rift towards Lögberg. There they enjoyed choir singing and theatrical perfomance by the actor Gunnar Eyjólfsson and singer Steindór Andersen before concluding with the national anthem where everyone participated.