History of Reykjavik Timeline

The post of city architect in Reykjavík was created in 1907 and advertised in 1908, marking the growing professionalization of urban planning in the expanding town.

Safnahúsið, the Culture House, opened in 1909 and houses a number of important exhibits. Originally built to house the National Library and National Archives, it was also previously home to the National Museum and Natural History Museum.

Icelandic author Halldór Laxness was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1955 for 'vivid epic power which has renewed the great narrative art of Iceland', bringing worldwide attention to Icelandic literary tradition rooted in Reykjavík.

Image source: Halldór Laxness

The Grafarholt golf course opened in 1963, making it the oldest 18-hole golf course in Iceland. The Reykjavík Golf Club itself had been established earlier, in 1934.

In 1972, Reykjavík hosted the famous World Chess Championship between American Bobby Fischer and Soviet champion Boris Spassky, a match that captured global attention during the Cold War.

Image source: World Chess Championship 1972

Beer was banned in Iceland until 1 March 1989 but has since become popular among many Icelanders as their alcoholic drink of choice, contributing to Reykjavík's vibrant bar culture.

The Korpa golf course opened in 1997, adding a second course to the Reykjavík Golf Club alongside the historic Grafarholt course.

In 2000, Safnahúsið was re-modeled to promote the Icelandic national heritage, transforming the former library and archives building into a modern culture house.

The Arnamagnæan Manuscript Collection was added to the UNESCO Memory of the World Register on 31 July 2009, recognizing the medieval Icelandic manuscripts whose language modern Icelanders can still read with relative ease.

In 2011, Reykjavík was designated a UNESCO City of Literature and joined the UNESCO Creative Cities network, honouring the city's deep literary heritage stretching back to medieval manuscripts.

Image source: Creative Cities Network

January 1918 is the coldest month on record in Reykjavík, with an average temperature of −7.2 °C (19 °F). The lowest-ever recorded temperature, −24.5 °C (−12 °F), was recorded on 21 January 1918.

In the summer of 2007, no rain was measured in Reykjavík for one month, an unusual dry spell for the famously wet subpolar oceanic climate.

Many of Reykjavík's urban development projects were halted during the 2008 financial crisis, which hit Iceland particularly hard and stalled construction across the capital region.

Image source: 2008–2011 Icelandic financial crisis

The highest temperature ever recorded in Reykjavík was 25.7 °C (78 °F), reported on 30 July 2008.

July 2019 was the warmest month on record in Reykjavík, with an average temperature of 13.4 °C (56 °F).

As of 2025, the first phase of Reykjavík's new public transport project is due to open in 2031, marking a shift away from the road-transport-based policies of the latter half of the 20th century.

Image source: Transport in Iceland

There has been discussion of the relocation or removal of Reykjavík Airport, but no decision has been made as of 2026, leaving one of the city's most debated planning questions unresolved.

Image source: Reykjavík Airport

As of 2026, Reykjavík has a population of around 140,000, while the surrounding Capital Region has about 252,000 residents, constituting approximately 64% of Iceland's population.

On 1 January 2026, first- and second-generation immigrants numbered 37,348 of the city's population of 139,804 (26.7%), up sharply from 3,106 (2.9%) in 1998. As of 2024, about 64.8% of foreign residents originate in EU and EFTA member states.