Althing

A good question asked by a student on a recent visit to Thingvellir.

"If this was the Parliament for so long why didn't they build a permanent building?"

Several possible answers here:

The chieftains (39 of them originally, representing the different regions of the country) would meet at a central place, and this place had a particular meaning to those present. It was generally a central location with regards to the main places where they were living at the time.

They built booths down on the meadow. These were temporary rather than permanent.

The low point of the rift valley was often affected by water so any permanent structure would have been damaged. There would also have presumably been earthquakes which would damage stone structures and mean they were not likely to last too long.

During March 2023, there was a flood which damaged some of the lower walkways. They have since been repaired.

A permanent Parliament building was eventually constructed in Reykjavik, followed more recently by City Hall.

I tend to take students to this alternative Parliament building and ask them where they would prefer to meet, and where might have more 'gravitas' and awe and wonder.  I guess taking MPs out to Thingvellir would not be practical now.