UNESCO has inscribed the Swimming pool culture of Iceland on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
Despite its cool climate, outdoor swimming pools are very popular in Iceland, welcoming people of all ages, backgrounds and abilities.
The key to Iceland´s swimming pool culture is the abundant availability of geothermal hot water in many parts of the country due to volcanic activity. The Blue Lagoon, the famous tourist attraction in south-western Iceland has benefited from this, but also suffered, closing on numerous occasions due to a series of eruptions since 2023.
Approximately 79% of Icelandic adults use public swimming pools, and around 40% of those do so more than once a month. In Icelandic, swimming pool attendees are called “guests.” Many go to the swimming pool first thing in the morning.
“You start to do it because it is so refreshing, then it becomes a tradition and an integral part of your daily life,” says Valgerður Gísladóttir, a regular swimming pool guest. “After you have made friends in the pool, there is even more that draws you to it and you just want to meet your friends and enjoy being in the pool.”
Politics or no politics?
People visit the pools for various reasons, such as to exercise, relax or socialise. Public swimming pools are run by the community and for the community — a dynamic that has created unique social arenas. For instance, hot tubs have become informal debating parlours.
Halldór Bergmann Þorvaldsson is a regular at one of Reykjavík´s swimming pools where he meets a group of friends. “We show up at 7am. We have craftsmen like myself, senators and former government ministers, the whole range of society, but I did put one rule into practice when I founded this group. It is forbidden to talk about politics; that is why it is so much fun here.”
Although this group prefers to have a “politics-free zone”, that is by no means the rule. Politicians are well aware that the pools are a good place to take stock of public opinion. When Steingrímur Hermannsson, a former Prime Minister, abolished a weekly slot devoted to unscheduled meetings with members of the public, he said everyone could instead meet him at his favourite swimming pool, each day at 7am.
Such a practice might seem improbable now, with political leaders around the world needing police protection, but it was at least possible in Iceland in the 1980s.
Healthy and accessible
Reykjavik, the capital of Iceland and with a population of 146,000, has eight major public swimming pools. The admission fee is nine euros, but if you buy a 10-admission card a single-entry costs four euros. It is free of charge for children under 16.
The pools are usually open from 6.30am to 10 pm. All have 25-metre-long swimming lanes, and some 50 metres with hot water, at a temperature of 27-30°C. The children’s pools are slightly warmer, around 32°C. The hot tubs have different temperatures, from 37°C to 43°C, not to mention the cold tub.
Hammams and saunas are a relatively new addition. The Mayor of Reykjavík recently inaugurated a new sauna in a popular local swimming pool, highlighting the importance of swimming culture in Iceland, with members of the media present – all in swimsuits.
Stripped away
The community of swimming pool guests consists of people of different social standing who come together as equals, dressed only in their swimsuits.
“In life you dress in a certain way, you are this or that type,” says Anna Kristín Sigurðardóttir, the manager of a swimming pool. “And sure you can wear a certain swimming costume or have a tattoo or a particular hair style, but still so much of how you express your identity is stripped away and iesn´t matter if you are the president or the most famous pop star, everyone is just together in the pool.”
Indeed, it is common knowledge that Björk, Iceland´s most famous pop star, is a frequent visitor to her local swimming pool.
Soul of the nation
History Professor, Guðni Th. Jóhannesson, Iceland´s President from 2016 to 2024, says the swimming culture began in the early 20th century when swimming pools were built all over the country.
“Iceland´s swimming pool culture is inseparable from the soul of the nation,” Jóhannesson says. “I really enjoy when I go to the pool in the morning. People enjoy getting together and having a swim and chat in the hot tub afterwards, solving all the world’s problems. But those solutions only work for one day, so they have to get together again the day after, and talk and think. I don´t always make it to the pool. I go to the hot tub and never make it out.”
Based on an old tradition
Hot tubs are a relatively new addition that dates from the latter part of the 20th century. However, the tradition of bathing in hot natural pools is as old as human presence in the country. In Reykholt in western Iceland, the ancient “Snorra laug” hot spring has been conserved. It is named after Snorri Sturluson (1179-1241), a statesman and author of the Heimskringla, a collection of sagas (prose narratives primarily based on historical events that mostly took place in Iceland). There are several mentions of the heroes of Icelandic Sagas resting in hot water.
The kids are all right – so are the elderly
Swimming pool culture is passed down through generations, with parents bringing infants to the pool. All children aged six to 16 attend swimming lessons once a week throughout the school year.
As children grow, they continue to visit the pools, attending swimming lessons, participating in school activities, and spending time there with friends or family.
“I was reminiscing with my parents, how it was when they were raising us three siblings,” says Inga Lára Björnsdóttir. “And it was exactly the same as I do with my own girls, we go to the pool after kindergarten.”
A phone-free zone
For young people, going to the pool is also an important meeting place, where people actually meet face to face, which is getting rarer in modern times.
“I start to feel an itch in my body if I haven’t been to the pool for four days. And it is also a good place to meet your friends because you can’t be on the phone. You are forced to be in the now and look at your friends,” says 24-year-old Steinunn Lóa Lárusdóttir.The swimming pool culture enhances the feeling of cohesion within communities and the social bonds formed extend beyond the pool, making it essential for the well-being of people in Iceland.
Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity
Jón Karl Helgason, the author of the 2022 documentary (Swimming Pool Stories) recently told a British journalist from the Guardian: “You Britons go to the pub, we go to the swimming pool!”
Although British pubs, have not yet been recognized, Icelandic swimming pool culture has now joined Belgian beer culture on the UNESCO list of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity and there is an ongoing campaign for the inclusion of Irish pub culture.
There are some difference though, such as the vastly superior health benefits of visiting a swimming pool to pub crawling – including a no hang-over guarantee.
(Source: the interviews were made by UNESCO see here. For further information see here.
Article in Icelandic see here, in Swedish see here.)
