Articles by: Jón Trausti Sigurðarson
Jón grew up in every other small town in Iceland, moved pianos in Michigan for a living in the late 90s and founded this publication in the early noughties. Has since acquired a few degrees, lived abroad, been a stay-at-home-parent, worked as lawyer and run numerous ultras.
What’s A Fair Price For A Common Resource?
by Jóhannes Bjarkason and Jón Trausti Sigurðarson
The Grapevine tells you what the fuck a fisheries resource rent is When the current coalition government assumed office in…
Editorial: Homemade Icelandic Neocolonialism
The issue’s main feature chronicles the story of Samherji, one of Iceland’s biggest fisheries, and its conduct in Namibia, where, instead…
I Spy, With My Kókómjólk Eye
A story of not so private, not so intelligent private intelligence Wednesday, April 29th at 20:05, half of Iceland sat…
Now And Then: The Language Tower
How architecture adds to the language When explaining why the Icelandic language has remained somewhat unaltered for a millennium it…
Editorial: Can We Separate Art From Politics?
We reached out to VÆB, who this year will represent Iceland at Eurovision, held in Basel, Switzerland between May 13-17th….
From Army Brats To Luxury Flats
The military past of Reykjavík’s west side Eighty years is a lifetime. And a lot of things can change in…
Now And Then: Diving Into A Piece Of History
Deciphering the subtle transformation of Sundhöll Reykjavíkur Having opened to the public in 1937, Sundhöll Reykjavíkur is Reykjavík’s oldest swimming…
It’s Always Fun On Arnarhóll
This is Arnarhóll. You know, the hill in the centre of Reykjavík. According to some of the oldest written records…
Now And Then: Hey, Remember When Those Whaling Ships Were Sunk?
Revisiting Iceland’s other core memory from 1986 There were two things that happened in Iceland in 1986 that have been…
Now And Then: Is A Church More Than Just A Building?
The evolution of Reykjavík’s most prominent structure If you drop that question to a devout Catholic or anybody serious about…
Now And Then: A Tale of Two Bankruptcies
Storage Units become Housing Units Few locations in downtown Reykjavík have shapeshifted as massively in the past two decades as…
Now & Then: A Monument To The Selective Ambitions Of Government
It was just weeks ago that this domineering new 6.400 square metre building was fully ready for use. Work on…
Replacing Fear With Hope: With elections approaching in the U.S. and Iceland, lazy tactics prevail
On November 5, voters in the U.S. will elect the next global dictator for a four-year term. This election, even…
Iceland Is Reputed To Be Happy And Safe. So Why Is Violent Crime On The Rise?
According to the UN’s 2024 World Happiness Report Iceland is the third happiest country in the world. It has maintained…
Now And Then: A Bizarre Episode Of History
What you are looking at here is Pósthustræti 2 — one of the relatively few buildings in Reykjavík that has simply…
The Survivors: Never-Changing Institutions In The Ever-Changing Downtown
by John Rogers and Jón Trausti Sigurðarson
They say that you’re a New Yorker once you lived there long enough to remember what was in that spot…
Don’t Go To The Volcano, Because You Might Die
It has escaped no one’s attention that yet another eruption is taking place on the Reykjanes peninsula. Just like the…
Anybody Can Run For President… And That’s Exactly Who’s Running
The office of President of Iceland is a peculiar one. When Iceland won independence in 1944 the constitution the Dane’s…
Icelandic Prime Minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir To Announce Presidential Bid
UPDATE: April Fool’s!! Icelandic Prime Minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir will hold a press conference at Kjarvalsstaðir today to formally announce that…
Is Iceland Airwaves Past Its Prime?
The best festival we have. The only festival we have. Strictly speaking, the Iceland Airwaves festival, which will turn 25…
A Smooth Rendition Of Taking Responsibility
A reflection on the resignation of Bjarni Benediktsson On the morning of October 10, Minister of Finance Bjarni Benediktsson held…
Reaching The Sky
by Jóhannes Bjarkason and Jón Trausti Sigurðarson
A how-to guide to hikes around Reykjavík A hike is nothing more than a walk on a mountain. Sure, you’ll…
How Not To Sell A Bank
Explaining the storm swirling around the sale of Íslandsbanki The saga of Icelanders and banking is a tale that feels…
On Why One Founds The Reykjavík Grapevine
Sometime over the past 20 years, the reason became clear Remember boredom? That thing that could happen to you before…
Ask A Lawyer: Was There Ever The Death Penalty In Iceland?
Was there ever the death penalty in Iceland? We asked lawyer and Grapevine founding member Jón Trausti Sigurðarson for the…