Author: Helgi Hrafn Guðmundsson
The Man Who Sold His Corpse For A Drink
In 1904, the municipal council of Reykjavík agreed that the local medical school should be allowed to use the corpses…
The Man Who Didn’t Like Hangikjöt: W.H. Auden In Iceland
by Helgi Hrafn Guðmundsson and Vera Illugadóttir
In 1936, a thirty-year-old poet from Britain travelled around Iceland. His name was Wystan Hugh Auden—you probably know him as…
Show Up Naked On Monday And You’ll Get A Free Phone
As a great number of Icelanders camped out in front of Reykjavík’s Dunkin’ Donuts hoping to be one of the…
Better Than Any Modern Travel Book: A 16th-Century German Travel Poem About Iceland
A mysterious man visited Iceland sometime between the years 1554 and 1586, when Hanseatic merchants ruled the ports and trade…
Collect ‘Em All: When Reykjavík’s Bums Appeared On Postcards
Being able to live anonymously is one of the great perks of modern civilisation. In a big city today, it’s…
In The Year 2000, Ants Will Have Conquered The World
by Helgi Hrafn Guðmundsson and Vera Illugadóttir
Icelanders in 1971 predict the futureIn 1971, the magazine Samvinnan gathered a panel of Icelanders to predict the state of…
The Sinister Christmas Clan Of Iceland
by Helgi Hrafn Guðmundsson and Vera Illugadóttir
In Iceland, there is no Santa Claus. Instead, there are thirteen “jólasveinar,” which can be translated to “Yule Lads.” They…
The American Soldier Who Travelled To The Year 900 In Iceland
What if a modern person travelled back to Viking times? In 1956, the American science fiction author Poul Anderson pondered…
Höfði-San: Shrimp Salesman Built A Replica Of A Reykjavík Landmark
Iceland became the focus of world attention when US President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev met in Reykjavík…
“An Absurd Film Set In Reykjavík”
In September 1942 the inhabitants of Reykjavík had breakfast in a state of shock. They were reading an article in…
“The Fag-End Of Civilization”
Best descriptions of Reykjavík by foreign visitors in the 19th CenturyIt is no secret that the village of Reykjavík was…
“Icelandic Blood Has Been Shed”
About 1,200 Icelanders fought in World War IThis year marks 100 years since the outbreak of World War I, one…
The Nazi King Of Iceland
In 1938 a mysterious meeting took place in which a German prince was offered the Kingdom of IcelandIn his 1952…
They Are Coming
Aliens in Iceland in 1993. Newspaper articles from the time do not agree on whether the event was “full of…
A Nazi’s Disappointment With Iceland
In the early hours of May 10, 1940, British forces launched Operation Fork, invading Iceland. One of their first tasks,…
Greater Beings In The Stars Will Be Frequent Guests
by Helgi Hrafn Guðmundsson, Vera Illugadóttir and Dr. Helgi Pjéturss
At the start of each New Year we are tempted to make predictions. Lemúrinn will make no such forecast for…
Lemúrinn: Crossing The Volcanic Wasteland With A Camera And Polished Shoes
Horace Dall (1901-1986) lived on a hill in Luton, England. He pointed telescopes towards the stars and photographed the planets…
Lemúrinn: The Graf Zeppelin Visits Reykjavík
by Helgi Hrafn Guðmundsson and Vera Illugadóttir
“On Thursday, July 17, at around 11:00 AM, the citizens of Reykjavík looked up at the sky in astonishment as…
Lemúrinn: The Presence Of A People
by Vera Illugadóttir and Helgi Hrafn Guðmundsson
In the last decade of the 19th century a young Englishman named Frederick W.W. Howell travelled extensively in Iceland, visiting…
Lemúrinn: Icelandic Doppelgängers
Doppelgängers are a mystery. Why does Russian President Vladimir Putin totally look like the Italian merchant Arnolfini in the haunting…
Was Reykjavík A Shithole In The Seventies?
“This is the ugly city of my youth,” wrote the prominent writer Guðmundur Andri Thorsson about a Facebook album of…
Celebrating One Thousand Years Of Alþingi In 1930
by Vera Illugadóttir and Helgi Hrafn Guðmundsson
In the summer of 1930, 28-year-old Swedish photographer and scholar Berit Wallenberg travelled to Iceland where she spent a couple…