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 Germany |  Iceland |
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Germany–Iceland relations are the bilateral relations betweenGermany andIceland. Both countries are also members of theOECD, theOSCE, theCBSS (although Iceland has no coast on theBaltic Sea) and theSchengen Area (although Iceland is not a member of theEU).
Already in the saga of theSong of the Nibelungs,Brünhild, Queen of Iceland, is mentioned, who is recruited bySiegfried under the protection of his invisibility cloak during a journey to the far north for King Gunther (who has his power base inWorms).
Documented relations between Iceland and theGerman-speaking world date back to around 900. The first German to visit Iceland was probablymissionary bishop Frederick in 981, who promoted theChristianization of Iceland during his five-year stay. The priest Dankbrand (or Thangbrand, inIcelandicÞangbrandr), an envoy of theNorwegian king, was also committed to this a few years later. The first Icelandic bishop to be consecrated wasÍsleifur Gissurarson inBremen in 1056.[1]
Until 1104, when the ecclesiastical province ofLund was separated from theMetropolitanate of Bremen-Hamburg, the Icelandic bishopric of Skálholt, was under the metropolitan authority of theArchbishopric of Bremen.[1]
The first written accounts of Iceland in German date from the 11th century and go back toAdam of Bremen.[1]
Christopher of Bavaria (1416-1448), born Christoph von Pfalz-Neumarkt was also ruler of Iceland (Icelandic: Kristófer af Bæjaralandi) as king ofDenmark,Sweden andNorway.Didrik Pining fromHildesheim, a participant in an international expedition withJoão Vaz Corte-Real, among others, which was to re-establish contact withGreenland in 1473-76 and is said to have reached theNorth American mainland in the process, wasgovernor of Iceland from 1478 to 1490.[1]
In the 15th and 16th centuries, trade was conducted between theHanseatic League and especiallyHamburg on the one hand and Iceland on the other.[2] In the mid-16th century, theLutheran-styleReformation was imposed in Iceland. In 1814, during theNapoleonic Wars, thePeace of Kiel was concluded between Sweden, Great Britain and Denmark. From the point of view of theIcelanders, this peace was a perpetuation of Denmark's dominance over their country, which had already been ruled by Norway since 1380. In 1854, the Danish trade monopoly was abolished. InWorld War I, Denmark, and by extension Iceland, remained neutral. Since 1918, Iceland was only loosely connected to Denmark bypersonal union.[1]
Iceland was cut off from Denmark in 1940 following theGerman occupation of Denmark andNorway, itself being later occupied byBritish troops. In November 1944, the shelling of the transport and passenger shipGoðafoss by a Germansubmarine killed 24 people.[3][1]
In 1944, Iceland declared itself an independent republic. AfterWorld War II, the states of Germany and Iceland established diplomatic relations in 1952, at the request ofKonrad Adenauer. Embassies were opened inHamburg andReykjavík. In 1955, the Icelandic Embassy moved toBonn, and in 1999 toBerlin. It is part of theNordic Embassies.[1]
There is cooperation between the two countries inNATO and theUN. The foundation of the cooperation are common values and views regarding international politics. TheGerman government andBundestag are in favor ofIceland's accession to the European Union.[4]
From the15th century, there were trade relations through the merchants of the Hanseatic League, which shaped the economic development of Iceland. In the so-called Icelandic trade, the Hanseatic city of Hamburg had the most important role. Trade also paved the way for increasing cultural exchange. Between 1602 and 1787, trade relations were interrupted by a Danish trade monopoly.[1]
In the three so-calledCod Wars, Iceland expanded itsfishing limits from four to twelve, then to 50, and finally to 200nautical miles. While thefirst cod war (1958) was limited to Iceland and theUnited Kingdom, since all other countries (includingWest Germany) recognized the new Icelandic twelve-nautical-mile zone, the further expansion of fishing limits in theSecond Cod War (1972) and theThird Cod War (1974) also led to conflict with West Germany. Among other things, the nets of German fishing boats were cut by Icelanders. Iceland's 200-nautical-mile zone was recognized by allEEC states on January 1, 1977.
Germany and Iceland are organized together in theEuropean Economic Area. Economic relations are close, with a trade volume of €1.111 billion in 2019, according to theFederal Statistical Office. Germany's imports were worth €526 million, while exports were worth €585 million. The products shipped to Germany are around 53% processed goods, such as aluminum, and 38% marine products, such as fish processed inBremerhaven andCuxhaven. Germany exports 43% to Iceland, mainly motor vehicles, machinery and electrical engineering. For Iceland, Germany was the third most important trading partner for imports and the sixth most important for exports in 2019.[4]
Germans play an important role fortourism in Iceland. In 2019, for example, Germany was the fourth-largest country of origin, with more than 132,000 visitors to Iceland annually, and visitors from Germany had the longest length of stay, averaging 8.8 nights.[5]
German-Icelandic cultural relations go back more than a millennium; the two states have a Germanic cultural background.[1]
Trade relations through the merchants of the Hanseatic League in the 16th century brought the art of printing and impulses for the Reformation to Iceland. The first printing of an Icelandic script took place in Hamburg in 1530.[1] The first printing press was also exported to Iceland from there. The Bishop ofSkálholt Gissur Einarsson, a proponent of the Reformation, stayed in Germany for several years; he arranged for a translation of theNew Testament ofLuther's Bible into Icelandic.[1] German natural scientistRobert Bunsen traveled to Iceland in the mid-19th century and explained thegeyser phenomenon.[1]
Institutions such as theGerman Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) or theGoethe-Institut promote German-Icelandic cultural exchange. The library inHafnarfjörður cooperates with the Goethe-Institut. Other sponsors of cultural relations are theGerman Studies Department of theUniversity of Iceland, the Icelandic German Teachers' Association (German is an elective subject at secondary schools) and several German-Icelandic societies in Germany. In 2002, a lectorate forIcelandic was established at theHumboldt University in Berlin.[4]
Contemporary scientific cooperation is mainly centered around marine and Arctic research.[1]
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