statue of Ingólfur Arnarson by Einar Jónsson

Ingólfur Arnarson is recognized as the first permanent Nordic settler of Iceland. He was, however, not the first Scandinavian to visit and live on the island. The first one was the Swedish Viking Garðar Svavarsson who stayed for a winter at Húsavík. In 874, Ingólfur built his homestead in Reykjavík, this marked the beginning of the age of settlement that lasted until 930. When Ingólfur's ship approached the unsettled land he ordered that his high seat pillars should to be thrown overboard and the spot where they landed would be the place to build the first permanent settlement of Iceland. Download high resolution version (646x630, 81 KB)photo by Einar Einarsson Kvaran Ingólfur Arnarson File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Download high resolution version (646x630, 81 KB)photo by Einar Einarsson Kvaran Ingólfur Arnarson File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... The Nordic countries (Greenland not shown) The Nordic countries is a term used collectively for five countries in Northern Europe. ... Iceland - Wikipedia /**/ @import /skins/monobook/IE50Fixes. ... Scandinavia is the cultural and historic region of the Scandinavian Peninsula. ... The Kingdom of Sweden (Swedish: Konungariket Sverige  listen) is a Nordic country in Scandinavia, in Northern Europe. ... The name Viking is a loan from the native Scandinavian term for the Norse seafaring warriors who raided the coasts of Scandinavia, the British Isles, and other parts of Europe from the late 8th century to the 11th century, the period of European history referred to as the Viking Age. ... Location in Iceland County Suður_Þingeyjarsýsla Constituency Northeast Area 270 km² ( 104. ... Events March 13 - The bones of Saint Nicephorus are interred in the Church of the Apostles, Constantinople. ... See also: Reykjavík, Manitoba in Canada Reykjavík is the capital of Iceland, its largest city and the northernmost capital city of a nation. ... Events With the establishment of the Icelandic Althing, now the worlds oldest parliament, the Icelandic Commonwealth is founded. ...

Following is a excerpt from Eyrbyggja Saga which describes this:

Then Thorolf cast overboard the pillars of his high-seat, which had been in the temple, and on one of them was Thor carven; withal he spake over them, that there he would abide in Iceland, whereas Thor should let those pillars come a-land.