This system has a queer by-product effect, a faint hydrogen sulphide odour, especially evident when showering. In dry weather the city has crystal clear sky and clean air.
Very low pollution level is also due to rather small size of the city. Till the middle of the 18th century Reykjavik mostly consisted of just a few farmhouses, slowly growing into a small trading community. After it had been granted with a municipal charter, it gradually developed into an urban center. After World War II Iceland got independent from Denmark, and Reykjavik became the capital of Iceland.
Though still looking like a provincial town, with its brightly painted houses and low buildings, Greater Reykjavik (city including the Old Tower, harbor and six municipalities) dominates Iceland politically, socially and economically.
Read more about Reykjavik in our City Guide ...