Counties of Iceland
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Iceland was historically divided into 23 counties known as sýslur (Script error: No such module "IPA".), and 23 independent towns known as kaupstaðir (Script error: No such module "IPA".). Iceland is now split up between 24 sýslumenn (magistrates) that are the highest authority over the local police (except in Reykjavík where there is a special office of police commissioner) and carry out administrative functions such as declaring bankruptcy and marrying people outside of the church. The jurisdictions of these magistrates often follow the lines of the historical counties, but not always. When speaking of these new "administrative" counties, the custom is to associate them with the county seats rather than using the names of the traditional counties, even when they cover the same area.[1]
Composition
Independent towns (kaupstaðir) were first created in the 18th century as urbanisation began in Iceland; this practice continued into the 1980s. The last town that was declared an independent town was Ólafsvík in 1983. Since then, the laws regarding municipalities have been changed in such a way that there is no longer any distinction made between urban or rural municipalities.[2]
Historical counties
The historical counties were:
- Árnessýsla (Script error: No such module "IPA"., Template:Lit)
- Austur-Barðastrandarsýsla (Script error: No such module "IPA"., Template:Lit)
- Austur-Húnavatnssýsla (Script error: No such module "IPA"., Template:Lit)
- Austur-Skaftafellssýsla (Script error: No such module "IPA"., Template:Lit)
- Borgarfjarðarsýsla (Script error: No such module "IPA"., Template:Lit)
- Dalasýsla (Script error: No such module "IPA"., Template:Lit)
- Eyjafjarðarsýsla (Script error: No such module "IPA"., Template:Lit)
- Gullbringusýsla (Script error: No such module "IPA"., Template:Lit)
- Kjósarsýsla (Script error: No such module "IPA"., Template:Lit)
- Mýrasýsla (Script error: No such module "IPA"., Template:Lit)
- Norður-Ísafjarðarsýsla (Script error: No such module "IPA"., Template:Lit)
- Norður-Múlasýsla (Script error: No such module "IPA"., Template:Lit)
- Norður-Þingeyjarsýsla (Script error: No such module "IPA"., Template:Lit)
- Rangárvallasýsla (Script error: No such module "IPA"., Template:Lit)
- Skagafjarðarsýsla (Script error: No such module "IPA"., Template:Lit)
- Snæfellsnes- og Hnappadalssýsla (Script error: No such module "IPA"., Template:Lit)
- Strandasýsla (Script error: No such module "IPA"., Template:Lit)
- Suður-Múlasýsla (Script error: No such module "IPA"., Template:Lit)
- Suður-Þingeyjarsýsla (Script error: No such module "IPA"., Template:Lit)
- Vestur-Barðastrandarsýsla (Script error: No such module "IPA"., Template:Lit)
- Vestur-Húnavatnssýsla (Script error: No such module "IPA"., Template:Lit)
- Vestur-Ísafjarðarsýsla (Script error: No such module "IPA"., Template:Lit)
- Vestur-Skaftafellssýsla (Script error: No such module "IPA"., Template:Lit)
Independent towns
The 23 independent towns were:
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See also
References
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- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."A Complete History of Iceland". Guide to Iceland. Retrieved 2025-06-10.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Jakobsson, Sverrir; Halfdanarson, Gudmundur (2016-02-15). Historical Dictionary of Iceland. Bloomsbury Publishing PLC. ISBN 978-1-4422-6291-1.
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