Road project in Iceland delayed to protect Elves
Page 1 of 1
Road project in Iceland delayed to protect Elves
Road project in Iceland delayed to protect 'hidden' elves
A road project has been stopped until the country's Supreme Court rules on a case to protect elves and the environment
Kashmira Gander Author Biography
Monday 23 December 2013
Humans in Iceland are standing up for the rights of elves – and not because Father Christmas works them too hard.
Elf advocates have joined forces with environmentalists to urge the Icelandic Road and Coastal Commission and local authorities to abandon a highway project because it might disturb the creatures' habitat.
The activists are particularly concerned about an elf church that sits on the potential site.
The proposed highway would offer a direct route from the Alftanes peninsula, where President Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson has a home, to the Reykjavik suburb of Gardabaer.
But the project has been halted until the Supreme Court of Iceland rules on a case brought by a group known as Friends of Lava.
The activists cite a cultural and environmental impact – including the plight of the elves – as a reason for regularly gathering hundreds of people to block workers from bulldozing the area.
However, many of the Friends of Lava are motivated primarily by environmental concerns and see the elf issue as part of a wider concern for the history and culture of a very unique landscape.
Environmentalist Andri Snaer Magnason, said his major concern was that the road would cut a lava field in two and destroy animal nesting sites.
“Some feel that the elf thing is a bit annoying,” said Magnason, adding that personally he was not sure they existed.
The Nordic island's “Huldufolk” or “hidden folk” affect construction plans so regularly that the road and coastal administration has come up with a stock media response for elf inquiries.
It reads: “Issues have been settled by delaying the construction project at a certain point while the elves living there have supposedly moved on.”
Scandinavian and Nordic folklore is rich with mythological creatures. Most people in Norway, Denmark and Sweden have not taken elves seriously since the 19th century, but they remain a serious concern in Iceland.
In a survey conducted by the University of Iceland in 2007, 62 per cent of those asked thought it was at least possible that the critters exist.
Terry Gunnell, a folklore professor at the University of Iceland, said: “This is a land where the wind can knock you off your feet, where the smell of sulfur from your taps tells you there is invisible fire not far below your feet.
“Everyone is aware that the land is alive, and one can say that the stories of hidden people and the need to work carefully with them reflects an understanding that the land demands respect,” he explained.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/road-project-in-iceland-delayed-to-protect-hidden-elves-9021768.html
Wasn't quite sure where to put an Iceland story. Kinda seasonal LOL
Guest- Guest
Similar topics
» Chilcot inquiry into Iraq war delayed until after election
» Court Compensates Palestinian Woman Delayed at IDF Checkpoint With Dying Baby
» Iceland founder Malcolm Walker: 'Why should I say sorry for my riches?'
» Iceland issues Bardarbunga volcano red alert
» Woman who made 200 999 calls in two weeks because she was 'bored and didn't care about anyone else' delayed ambulance on its way to child suffering cardiac arrest
» Court Compensates Palestinian Woman Delayed at IDF Checkpoint With Dying Baby
» Iceland founder Malcolm Walker: 'Why should I say sorry for my riches?'
» Iceland issues Bardarbunga volcano red alert
» Woman who made 200 999 calls in two weeks because she was 'bored and didn't care about anyone else' delayed ambulance on its way to child suffering cardiac arrest
Page 1 of 1
Permissions in this forum:
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
Sat Mar 18, 2023 12:28 pm by Ben Reilly
» TOTAL MADNESS Great British Railway Journeys among shows flagged by counter terror scheme ‘for encouraging far-right sympathies
Wed Feb 22, 2023 5:14 pm by Tommy Monk
» Interesting COVID figures
Tue Feb 21, 2023 5:00 am by Tommy Monk
» HAPPY CHRISTMAS.
Sun Jan 01, 2023 7:33 pm by Tommy Monk
» The Fight Over Climate Change is Over (The Greenies Won!)
Thu Dec 15, 2022 3:59 pm by Tommy Monk
» Trump supporter murders wife, kills family dog, shoots daughter
Mon Dec 12, 2022 1:21 am by 'Wolfie
» Quill
Thu Oct 20, 2022 10:28 pm by Tommy Monk
» Algerian Woman under investigation for torture and murder of French girl, 12, whose body was found in plastic case in Paris
Thu Oct 20, 2022 10:04 pm by Tommy Monk
» Wind turbines cool down the Earth (edited with better video link)
Sun Oct 16, 2022 9:19 am by Ben Reilly
» Saying goodbye to our Queen.
Sun Sep 25, 2022 9:02 pm by Maddog
» PHEW.
Sat Sep 17, 2022 6:33 pm by Syl
» And here's some more enrichment...
Thu Sep 15, 2022 3:46 pm by Ben Reilly
» John F Kennedy Assassination
Thu Sep 15, 2022 3:40 pm by Ben Reilly
» Where is everyone lately...?
Thu Sep 15, 2022 3:33 pm by Ben Reilly
» London violence over the weekend...
Mon Sep 05, 2022 2:19 pm by Tommy Monk
» Why should anyone believe anything that Mo Farah says...!?
Wed Jul 13, 2022 1:44 am by Tommy Monk
» Liverpool Labour defends mayor role poll after turnout was only 3% and they say they will push ahead with the option that was least preferred!!!
Mon Jul 11, 2022 1:11 pm by Tommy Monk
» Labour leader Keir Stammer can't answer the simple question of whether a woman has a penis or not...
Mon Jul 11, 2022 3:58 am by Tommy Monk
» More evidence of remoaners still trying to overturn Brexit... and this is a conservative MP who should be drummed out of the party and out of parliament!
Sun Jul 10, 2022 10:50 pm by Tommy Monk
» R Kelly 30 years, Ghislaine Maxwell 20 years... but here in UK...
Fri Jul 08, 2022 5:31 pm by Original Quill