Iceland Replica
In 1985, Reykjavík City started work on creating a replica of part of Iceland. The map was displayed at a technology exhibition at Reykjavík City Theater, held in celebration of Reykjavík's 200th anniversary in 1986. It received a lot of attention.
Originally, the replica was meant to depict the settlement of Ingólfur. However, as the project progressed, it was decided that the replica would cover all of Iceland. It was intended to be displayed at Reykjavík City Hall in connection with the reception of tourist groups.
The idea to create the replica came from Þórður Þorbjarnarson, the City Engineer at the time. Building the replica took twenty person-years and was completed by four model makers at the Reykjavík City Model Workshop: Axel Helgason, Árni Hreiðar Árnason, Jónas Magnússon, and Kristján Sigurðsson. Sigurður Pálsson was the master painter.
The replica
The replica is primarily based on maps from the U.S. Army Map service series C762 from 1948. These maps were drawn using aerial photographs taken by the U.S. Army in Iceland in August and September of 1945 and from August to October of 1946.
This American map set includes a total of 269 maps at a scale of 1:50,000, with each map sheet covering about 435 square kilometers of land.
The height exaggeration is double, making the height scale 1:25,000. The total area of the model is 76.4 square meters, measuring 7.22x10.58m. It is divided into 57 sections. Of these, 43 sections depict the land itself, while 14 sections show only the sea surrounding the country to complete the square.
The sections vary in size, ranging from 80–180 cm on each side. The average area of these sections is about 1.35 square meters, with each covering nearly 3000 square kilometers of land on average.
Work on constructing the replica began in early 1985. It is made from 1 mm thick cardboard cut along the contour lines of the maps. Thus, each layer of cardboard represents 20 meters in elevation throughout the country. From sea level to the top of Öræfajökull, the model includes 106 layers. These are glued one on top of the other with regular wood glue and stapled or nailed as needed. The cardboard blocks are then fixed on wooden boards, which are screwed onto an aluminum frame.
When City Hall opened in 1992, the Iceland Replica was ready and installed in Tjarnarsalur of City Hall, where it has been on display ever since. The Iceland Replica is very popular and attracts many tourists, both Icelandic and foreign.