Þingvellir National Park (the first character in the name denotes the Icelandic unvoiced “th”, hence the frequently transliterated spelling of Thingvellir) is inscribed on the World Heritage list for cultural criteria: it is the place where the Icelandic Parliament was founded in 930 CE. The Althing (or Alþingi, if you prefer to see its name in Icelandic) is the oldest parliament in the world; the open-air assembly took place on an annual basis in Þingvellir until 1798, when it relocated to Reykjavik.
You’d be well justified in thinking that Þingvellir is a natural World Heritage site, though. While scattered remains of the thousand-year history are found here or there in the park, visually, it is all about the landscape and the unique proposition of being able to see the edges of two tectonic plates, the Eurasian and the North American, pulling apart from each other.
This is what this terrain looks like from the main elevated terrace near the visitor center.
Þingvallakirkja in its current incarnation dates from 1859, but there has been a church at this site continuously since 1015. The small church cemetery is the resting place for several notable Icelanders (for instance, Einar Benediktsson, whom we got briefly acquainted with in the Reykjavik post). The buildings behind the cemetery include the summer residence of the Prime Minister and supporting staff quarters. This cluster of man-made landmarks is the only one in the park, so it is no big surprise that it ends up a constant feature in shots from all possible angles.
The church is active and regularly hosts weddings, but is open to visitors only in the summer months.
The 7-kilometer rift that marks the eastern boundary of the North American tectonic plate starts right by the main viewpoint near the visitor center.
This rock feature crowns the rocky outcrop defined as the Law Rock (Lögberg), the open-air venue for the Althing assemblies of yesteryear.
The expanse of water to the south is Thingvallavatn, Iceland’s largest natural lake. It does not freeze even in winter…
… although you can find frozen streams elsewhere in the park.
Þingvellir is one of the main components of the Golden Circle. You cannot, unfortunately, do it justice in the space of a one-hour stop on a chauffeured group tour. Some of the key points of interest, such as Öxarárfoss Waterfall or the most picturesque portion of the Almannagjá Gorge that marks the boundary between two tectonic plates, are a good twenty minutes from the visitor center on foot, which makes it impractical to try to reach them when time is limited. I chose a short loop that took me near the church and its adjacent buildings, proceeded at a leisurely and cautious pace (some pathways remain quite slippery with ice well into March), and still felt like I was rushing. Two hours must be the absolute minimum at Þingvellir. And in summer, snorkeling between the tectonic plates would be something of a bucket-list activity, extending the visit to at least half a day.
Having completed the Golden Circle, our tour bus returned to Reykjavik. I still had the evening and the following morning to do more sightseeing in the capital, but that was already covered in the post about Reykjavik. And after that, the Scotland+Iceland adventure came to its end.