The Icelandic Alþingi was established in 930 AD which makes it the oldest running parliament in the world. In the beginning it was an outdoor assembly held on the plains of Þingvellir (45 km from Reykjavík, Iceland's capital). The Althing was a general assembly of the Icelandic Commonwealth, where the country’s most powerful Leaders (goðar) met to decide on legislation and dispense justice. Then, all free men could attend the assemblies, which were usually the main social event of the year and drew large crowds of farmers and their families, parties involved in legal disputes, traders, craftsmen, storytellers and travellers.
