Icelandic Science, Arts and Culture
Science, Arts and Culture
403 practice questions, each with the answer and an explanation.
Practise Science, Arts and Culture now
Random questions from this topic, one at a time. You see the answer and the explanation straight after each one.
All 403 questions
- Which Icelandic author won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1955?
- Which Icelandic singer, born in Reykjavík, is known for albums such as Debut and Homogenic?
- What is Harpa in Reykjavík?
- Which Reykjavík landmark is a church named after the poet Hallgrímur Pétursson?
- What is skyr?
- How many Yule Lads (jólasveinar) are there in Icelandic Christmas folklore?
- Which sport did the Icelandic men's team famously play at Euro 2016, beating England?
- What is glíma?
- What is the best result Iceland has achieved at the Eurovision Song Contest?
- What was the Icelandic sheepdog traditionally bred to do on farms?
- Which sport brought Iceland a silver medal at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing?
- Which famous chess match was played in Reykjavík in 1972?
- In 2011 Reykjavík was named by UNESCO as a
- Which collection did UNESCO inscribe on the Memory of the World register in 2009?
- Which Icelandic composer won an Academy Award in 2020 for the score of the film Joker?
- For which film did Björk win the best actress prize at Cannes in 2000?
- What is the jólabókaflóð, or Christmas book flood?
- What is hákarl, eaten at the midwinter feast þorrablót?
- Which company in Reykjavík is known for research into human genetics using Icelandic population data?
- Which Icelandic band is known for the album Ágætis byrjun?
- Which statue stands in front of Hallgrímskirkja?
- What did Iceland achieve at the 2018 FIFA World Cup?
- Which painter is known for landscapes of lava and moss, with a museum named Kjarvalsstaðir?
- How many gaits does the Icelandic horse have?
- Which detective, created by Arnaldur Indriðason, works in Reykjavík?
- Which body approves new Icelandic first names?
- What is a lopapeysa?
- How does the Carbfix project in Iceland store carbon dioxide?
- Why is Iceland useful for genetic research?
- Why are fermented and dried foods part of the traditional þorrablót table?
- Why do many Icelandic publishers release their new books in October and November?
- What was the main reason that Fischer–Spassky 1972 was held in Reykjavík?
- Which design feature of Hallgrímskirkja reflects Icelandic nature?
- What do the sagas and the Eddas show about Icelandic culture?
- Why is cheap electricity from renewable sources important to Iceland's industry?
- Which statement best explains the nickname 'Viking clap' used by Icelandic football fans?
- Complete the sentence about Icelandic language with the correct year: Since ______, on 16 November each year, the birthday of 19th-century poet Jónas Hallgrímsson is celebrated as Icelandic Language D…
- Complete the sentence about Icelandic language with the correct year: The division between old and modern Icelandic is said to be before and after ______.
- Complete the sentence about Icelandic language with the correct year: The oldest preserved texts in Icelandic were written around ______.
- Complete the sentence about Icelandic literature with the correct year: The first and original manuscript of the Poetic Edda is the Codex Regius, found in southern Iceland in ______ by Brynjólfur Svei…
- Complete the sentence about Icelandic literature with the correct year: The first book printed in Icelandic was the New Testament in ______.
- Complete the sentence about Völsunga saga with the correct year: The earliest known pictorial representation of this tradition is the Ramsund carving in Sweden, which was created c. ______ CE.
- Complete the sentence about Hallgrímur Pétursson with the correct year: In ______, he was reassigned to Saurbær in Hvalfjörður, a much sought-after position.
- Complete the sentence about Hallgrímur Pétursson with the correct year: A monograph on Hallgrímur Pétursson's life and works, by the Icelandic scholar Margrét Eggertsdóttir, was published in Icelandic…
- Complete the sentence about Halldór Laxness with the correct year: Laxness then attended and in ______ graduated from the Reykjavík Lyceum.
- Complete the sentence about Halldór Laxness with the correct year: In ______ Laxness published an article critical of the U.S. in Heimskringla, a Canadian newspaper.
- Complete the sentence about Jón Kalman Stefánsson with the correct year: In ______ his novel Fish Have No Feet was nominated for the Man Booker International Prize.
- Complete the sentence with the correct year: Yrsa was born in Reykjavík in ______ and moved to Hafnarfjörður at the age of six.
- Complete the sentence about Yrsa Sigurðardóttir with the correct year: Yrsa began her writing career with children's fiction, publishing her first book, Þar lágu Danir í því, in ______.
- Complete the sentence about Ragnar Jónasson with the correct year: Jónasson's debut novel, Fölsk nóta, was published in Iceland in ______.
- Complete the sentence about Einar Már Guðmundsson with the correct year: In ______ he received his Bachelor of Arts at the University of Iceland in comparative literature and history.
- Complete the sentence about Steinn Steinarr with the correct year: Along with some of his Unuhús friends he was present when the Communist Party of Iceland saw its first light of day towards the end o…
- Complete the sentence about Jónas Hallgrímsson with the correct year: Since ______, Jónas's birthday has been officially recognised in Iceland as the Day of the Icelandic Language.
- Complete the sentence about Jónas Hallgrímsson with the correct year: In ______ he returned home to Öxnadalur to be confirmed, before going away to a school in Skagafjörður, where he was taught by the…
- Complete the sentence about Jónas Hallgrímsson with the correct year: After passing his final examinations in ______, Jónas moved to Reykjavík and was employed by a sheriff as a clerk, living in his h…
- Complete the sentence about Matthías Jochumsson with the correct year: Matthías was, along with writer Torfhildur Hólm, the first Icelandic writers to receive an artist salary from the Althing in ____…
- Complete the sentence about Matthías Jochumsson with the correct year: Matthías's popular comedy, "Skugga-Sveinn", which premiered in ______, is often hailed as Iceland's first successful performed pl…
- Complete the sentence about Matthías Jochumsson with the correct year: Guðrún Runólfsdóttir and Matthías married in ______ and had a total of 11 children, 9 of whom reached adulthood.
- Complete the sentence with the correct year: Since November ______, there is a permanent manuscript exhibition in Edda, open to the public.
- Complete the sentence about Flateyjarbók with the correct year: The manuscript was given as a present from Bishop Brynjólfur to King Frederick III in ______, and placed in the Royal Library of Copenha…
- Complete the sentence about Icelandic cuisine with the correct year: With Christianisation in ______ came the tradition of fasting and a ban on horse meat consumption.
- Complete the sentence about Icelandic cuisine with the correct year: Historians often use the Reformation beginning in ______ as the transition between the Middle Ages and the early modern period in I…
- Complete the sentence about Icelandic cuisine with the correct year: A trade monopoly instituted by the Danish king in ______ had a certain effect on culinary traditions.
- Complete the sentence about Skyr with the correct year: Efforts at marketing it outside of Iceland began in ______ when it was exported to the U.S. and sold at the natural-foods market Whole Foods Mar…
- Complete the sentence about Icelandic hot dog with the correct year: The Texas wiener or Hot Texas wiener was created in Paterson, New Jersey sometime before ______.
- Complete the sentence about Brennivín with the correct year: The trade monopoly ended in ______, and thirty years later modern distillation techniques made their way to Scandinavia.
- Complete the sentence about Þorramatur with the correct year: In ______ the restaurant started advertising Þorramatur, which is the first mention of the word in Icelandic texts.
- Complete the sentence about Yule Lads with the correct year: In ______, the use of the Yule Lads myths to overly instill fear in children was officially banned, leading to the myths being made more be…
- Complete the sentence about Jólabókaflóð with the correct year: The tradition officially began in ______, when the Journal of Books was first published, as a result of the post-World War II economy.
- Complete the sentence about Ásatrúarfélagið with the correct year: The idea to found a folk religious organization came about in late winter ______ in discussions in a café in Reykjavík.
- Complete the sentence about Ásatrúarfélagið with the correct year: The Ásatrú organization was formed on the First Day of Summer ______ in a meeting at Hótel Borg.
- Complete the sentence about Ásatrúarfélagið with the correct year: Ásatrúarfélagið was officially recognized as a religious organization by the Icelandic government in May ______.
- Complete the sentence about Church of Iceland with the correct year: At the Alþingi in Þingvellir, in the year ______, the Icelandic Commonwealth was on the brink of civil war.
- Complete the sentence about Church of Iceland with the correct year: The first Icelandic bishop, Ísleifur Gissurarson, was consecrated in Bremen in ______, and he made Skálholt the episcopal see.
- Complete the sentence with the correct year: In the beginning of ______, it was part of the province in Bremen.
- Complete the sentence about Catholic Church in Iceland with the correct year: Pálsson was deported by Danish officials in ______, but Arason decided to fight.
- Complete the sentence about Catholic Church in Iceland with the correct year: Opposition to the Reformation effectively ended in ______ when Arason was captured after being defeated in the Battle of S…
- Complete the sentence with the correct year: Arason and his two sons were subsequently beheaded in Skálholt on 7 November ______.
- Complete the sentence about Catholic Church in Iceland with the correct year: Latin remained the official language of the Lutheran Church of Iceland until ______.
- Complete the sentence about Skálholt with the correct year: Until ______, it was one of Iceland's two episcopal sees, along with Hólar, making it a cultural and political center.
- Complete the sentence about Skálholt with the correct year: In ______ the seminary in Skálholt was re-instituted under the old name and now serves as the education and information center of the Church…
- Complete the sentence about Hólar with the correct year: The first printing press in Iceland was introduced to Hólar in ______.
- Complete the sentence about Þorlákshöfn with the correct year: The construction of Þorlákskirkja, a modern Protestant church, was started in ______.
- Complete the sentence about Tvísöngur with the correct year: Around ______, Johannes de Garlandia became the first theorist to prohibit the practice.
- Complete the sentence about Björk with the correct year: In ______, Time named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world.
- Complete the sentence about Björk with the correct year: Björk Guðmundsdóttir was born on 21 November ______ in Reykjavík.
- Complete the sentence about Sigur Rós with the correct year: The band was joined by Kjartan Sveinsson on keyboards in ______.
- Complete the sentence about Of Monsters and Men with the correct year: Of Monsters and Men signed with Record Records in February ______, and in March, they began recording their debut album at Studio…
- Complete the sentence about Of Monsters and Men with the correct year: Of Monsters and Men released the EP Into the Woods in December ______, which featured four songs from their debut album.
- Complete the sentence about Daði og Gagnamagnið with the correct year: Instead, he represented Iceland in the Eurovision Song Contest ______ with the song "10 Years", finishing in fourth place.
- Complete the sentence about Ólafur Arnalds with the correct year: In ______, Ólafur composed and recorded the intro and two outros for tracks on the album Antigone by German metal band Heaven Shall Bu…
- Complete the sentence about Ólafur Arnalds with the correct year: On 12 October ______, Ólafur's first solo album Eulogy for Evolution was released.
- Complete the sentence about Ólafur Arnalds with the correct year: In April ______, Ólafur composed and released a track daily for seven days, instantly making each track available within 24 hours from…
- Complete the sentence about Jóhann Jóhannsson with the correct year: Jóhann was born on 19 September ______ in Reykjavík, Iceland, to Jóhann Gunnarsson, a maintenance engineer who worked for IBM, and…
- Complete the sentence about Hildur Guðnadóttir with the correct year: Hildur was born in ______ in Reykjavík, Iceland, and was raised in Hafnarfjörður.
- Complete the sentence about Sugarcubes with the correct year: In her late teens, she joined the Icelandic post-punk band Tappi Tíkarrass, who released two albums before splitting in ______.
- Complete the sentence about Sugarcubes with the correct year: By ______, Björk, Einar Örn and Siggi had formed the group Kukl with keyboardist Einar Melax, and released two albums on the independent B…
- Complete the sentence about Sugarcubes with the correct year: The band first performed in July ______ under the name "Þukl" at the N'Art Festival held at the Nordic Culture Centre in Reykjavik, Icelan…
- Complete the sentence about Sugarcubes with the correct year: In late ______, the band signed to One Little Indian in the UK and to Elektra Records in the US.
- Complete the sentence about Páll Óskar with the correct year: Hjálmtýsson, a bank clerk, and Margrét Matthíasdóttir, a writer, Paul Oscar was born on 16 March ______ in Reykjavík.