Mapping Where to Find Elves in Iceland’s Proposed New National Park - CityLab
▻http://www.citylab.com/design/2016/03/where-to-find-elves-in-icelands-proposed-new-national-park/474216
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t’s an oft-reported, can-you-even-believe-it fact that many people in Iceland still believe in the possible existence of elves. This myth from the country’s folk traditions has persisted, and the niggling suspicion that the Good Folk may still be out there among the rocks has even led to Icelandic road and housing plans being altered to avoid sites associated with them. Now, there’s an incredibly detailed map that shows you exactly where such sites can be found.
Iceland’s Saga Foundation compiled and published the map last fall, linking traditional folk tales featuring so-called Huldufólk (“hidden people”) with locations all across the island. While deciphering the attached stories can be a challenge for those who don’t speak Icelandic, what’s striking is the mind-blowing volume of tales mapped. Zoom into any corner of the map and you will find an incredibly dense scattering of sightings, stories, and legends about the hidden people, sprinkling almost all of the island’s under-populated landscape with an intricate network of tales and supposed elf sightings. This past winter, a large portion of this unpopulated zone was back in the (Icelandic) news, as campaigners, including Björk and her union leader father, have lobbied to have the region protected by a new national park.