Hallgrímskirkja

Interesting facts

When planning began in 1929, the tower was also intended to serve as a radio transmitter mast.

Church leaders asked for a taller spire than first planned so that it would outshine Landakotskirkja, the Catholic cathedral of Iceland.

Despite its size it is not Reykjavík's cathedral; that role belongs to the much smaller 18th-century Dómkirkjan in the old centre.

The nave was consecrated on 26 October 1986, the anniversary of Hallgrímur Pétursson's death, in the year Reykjavík celebrated 200 years as a town.

Around 60 per cent of the cost of building the church was covered by donations.

The Klais organ weighs about 25 tonnes, and the pedal pipes framing its façade are roughly 10 metres long.

The cylindrical sanctuary at the east end has been compared to the shape of a Viking war helmet.

While it was being built, critics dismissed the design as old-fashioned and a muddle of architectural styles.

Unusually, the windows behind the high altar are of clear glass, so the congregation looks past the altar to open sky and clouds.

Einar Jónsson's statue near the nave shows Christ receiving the Holy Spirit after his baptism in the Jordan.

Why it is worth it

Hallgrímskirkja stands on the hilltop of Skólavörðuholt above central Reykjavík and is seen from almost everywhere in the city. At 74.5 m it is the largest church in Iceland and one of the tallest buildings in the country. The state architect Guðjón Samúelsson received the commission in 1937 and is said to have taken his cue from Icelandic nature: the stepped concrete wings that sweep up either side of the tower recall columns of basalt, the kind that frame waterfalls such as Svartifoss. The design is often compared with Grundtvig's Church in Copenhagen, with its similar organ-pipe front.

Building took 41 years. Work started in 1945, the crypt beneath the choir was consecrated in 1948, the tower and its wings were finished in 1974, and the nave was only consecrated in 1986. The church is named after Hallgrímur Pétursson, the seventeenth-century poet and pastor whose Passion Hymns are among the best-loved works of Icelandic literature. Inside, the nave is dominated by the great organ built by Johannes Klais of Bonn and finished in 1992: 15 m high, with 72 stops and 5,275 pipes. A statue of Christ by Einar Jónsson, donated in 1948, stands by the entrance to the nave.

A lift takes visitors up the tower to a viewing level with a panorama over the city, the harbour, the Atlantic and the surrounding mountains. The tower also holds a carillon of 29 bells, the three largest named after Hallgrímur, his wife and their daughter. In front of the church, and older than it, stands Alexander Stirling Calder's statue of Leif Erikson, a gift from the United States for the millennium of Iceland's parliament in 1930.

Getting there

The church is in the centre of Reykjavík, at the top of Skólavörðustígur. Reykjavík's domestic airport (RKV) is about 2 km away; international flights arrive at Keflavík International Airport (KEF), about 37 km away in a straight line.

From the encyclopaedia

Hallgrímskirkja is a Protestant Lutheran parish church in Reykjavík, Iceland. At 74.5 metres (244 ft) tall, it is the largest church in Iceland and second tallest building in the country. Known for its distinctively curved spire and side wings, it has been described as having become an important symbol for Iceland's national identity since its completion in 1986. The church is named after the Icelandic poet and cleric Hallgrímur Pétursson (1614–1674), author of the Passion Hymns.

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Hallgrímskirkja

Interesting facts

Why it is worth it

Getting there

Plan your visit

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From the encyclopaedia