Prohibition in Iceland

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With the prohibition in Iceland in 1915, the total ban on alcohol came into force. From 1922 wine could be imported again and from 1934 there was only a ban on strong beer with more than 2.25%. It was not until March 1, 1989, after 74 years, that the beer ban was lifted completely, which is why Icelanders have been celebrating bjórdagurinn ("Beer Day") since then .

history

The Icelandic abstinence movement grew stronger in the nineties of the 19th century, especially in the form of the Good Templars , and celebrated its greatest success in 1908, when in the first referendum in Iceland’s history the majority (60.1% of eligible men) voted for a total ban on alcohol . The total ban came into force seven years later on January 1, 1915. To prevent the people from drinking, the government put skull symbols on all high-proof bottles , which is why the Icelandic Brennivín is still popularly known today as the “Black Death”. Due to initial difficulties in implementing Prohibition, it was closed during theMostly overridden during the First World War as there was a lot of illicit distillery and smuggling going on on the island and doctors wrote out numerous prescriptions for alcohol for medicinal purposes.

Spain feared a loss of income as a result of the abstinence efforts that were widespread across Europe at the time and refused to buy Icelandic export products, especially stockfish . After negotiations, Iceland was forced to buy Spanish wine that had previously not been traded on the island and use it for medicinal purposes, against which the United Kingdom , Denmark , Norway and Finland protested unsuccessfully. Senator Junes also submitted a resolution against Spanish trade pressures to the American Congress , but the US , which carried out prohibition itself, did nothing about the matter. In 1922, the ban had to be partially relaxed again by allowing wine with up to 22% alcohol to be imported again.

In order to control the sale of alcohol by the state, the monopoly company Vínbúðin ("the wine business"), which still exists today, was founded in 1922 . The chain of stores is based on similar alcohol monopolies in the Nordic countries , especially the Swedish system bolaget . The Norwegian Vinmonopolet was also founded in the same year as the Icelandic Vínbúðin.

After a referendum in which a majority voted for the legalization of spirits, the prohibition of high-proof alcohol was lifted in 1934. In order to accommodate the abstinence movement, the ban continued to apply to strong beer with an alcohol content of 2.25% or more, also because this drink is the easiest to control because of its large volume. The abstinence movement argued that since beer is cheaper than liquor, it would lead to more immorality.

End of beer prohibition

As alcohol spread throughout the country with the advent of tourism, bills to legalize it came into the Althing , the Icelandic parliament, but were rejected on formal grounds. Prohibition lost even more ground in 1985 when the Justice and Human Rights Minister, himself a teetotaler, banned pubs from selling legal spirits alongside legal non-alcoholic beer, Bjórlíki , which were used to produce convincing imitations of strong beer. Soon after, parliament approached legalizing beer. With the full participation of the House of Lords (the then two-chamber Icelandic parliament), 13 voted for and eight against the sales permit. On March 1, 1989, after 74 years in Iceland, the prohibition on strong beer was lifted.

As a result of the end of Prohibition, Icelanders celebrate bjórdagurinn ( Beer Day) every first March . Some of them take part in the rúntur ( pub crawl ), where some bars are open until four in the morning. After ten attempts since 1932, the legalization of beer remains a significant event in Icelandic culture as beer has become the most popular alcoholic beverage in the country.

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ DrinkFocus.com: Iceland's National Beverage: Brennevin ( Memento of May 10, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) (English), accessed on Jul 10, 2010
  2. ↑ a b c Björn Thorsteinsson: Iceland - Politics Danmarkshistorie . Politics Forlag A / S, Copenhagen 1985, ISBN 87-567-3885-4 , p. 278 ff . (Danish).
  3. ↑ World Prohibition: 1923 News on the State of Worldwide Prohibition , accessed July 10, 2010
  4. ^ The New York Times : Beer (Soon) for Icelanders , May 11, 1988, accessed July 10, 2010
  5. ↑ a b c Helgi Gunnlaugsson, John F. Galliher: Prohibition of Beer in Iceland (English), accessed on July 10, 2010
  6. ↑ a b Reykjavík Grapevine: "Iceland Gets the Beer Back" ( Memento of November 29, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) (English), accessed on July 10, 2010
  7. ↑ Iceland Tourist Board: "Yet another reason to love Iceland" (English), accessed on July 10, 2010
  8. ↑ worldeventsguide.com: Beer Day ( Memento from February 1, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) (English), accessed on July 10, 2010