The
Alþingi (anglicised as
Althing or
Althingi) is the
national parliament (literally: "[the] all-
thing", or general assembly) of
Iceland. It is the oldest extant parliamentary institution in the world together with the
Jamtamot, today Jämtlands läns landsting, of
Jämtland County,
Sweden. The Althing was founded in 930 at
Þingvellir, the "assembly fields" or "Parliament Plains", situated approximately 45 km east of what later became the country's capital,
Reykjavík. This event marked the beginning of the
Icelandic Commonwealth. Even after Iceland's union with
Norway in 1262, the Althing still held its sessions at Þingvellir until 1799, when it was discontinued for 45 years. It was restored in 1844 and moved to Reykjavík, where it has resided ever since. The present parliament building, the
Alþingishús, was built in 1881, of hewn Icelandic stone.