Iceland is cloudy 95% of the time. This means an equivalent of 18 sunny days all year. We were incredibly lucky to catch the Hallgrímskirkja at such a beautiful moment in the late evening sunshine.  That’s Leifur Eiríksson (Leif Erikson) standing guard out front. As those of you of Scandinavian descent know, Leif Erikson was the first European to arrive on American soil. That was in the year 1000, almost 500 years before Columbus.

The 240-foot-tall Hallgrímskirkja tower is a Lutheran church. In 1929, the Icelandic Parliament launched a design competition. The state architect Guðjón Samúelsson started work on the design in 1937.  Construction started in 1945 and was fully completed in 1986, when Reykjavík was 200 years old. 

The columns symbolize mountains and glaciers amid the hexagonal basalt columns found in the volcanic areas of Iceland.

Hallgrímskirkja is named after Hallgrímur Pétursson, who lived in the 1600s. A sacred poet and priest, he wrote Hymns of the Passion, classic meditations on the martyrdom of Christ. The poems have recently been translated into English (available on Amazon).

Martin Luther wasn’t thrilled with the excesses of St Peter’s in Rome so Lutheran churches are generally quite sparse in decoration. Little to no stained glass, limited color and artwork.  Despite that, the Hallgrímskirkja nave is spectacular with the late evening light of the high latitudes pouring in the clear glass windows. The architect did great work!

The altar.  Through the lower windows you can see the snow-capped mountains that surround Reykjavík. 

The pulpit.  From the church guide: “There have been Christians in Iceland from the earliest days.  They were Celtic Christian monks who disappeared when the Norse settlers arrived in 830.  In 1000, Christianity was declared the national religion. The Icelandic church was part of the Roman Catholic church until the mid 1500s when the teachings of Martin Luther were introduced by royal decree of the King of Denmark.” No explanation was provided on how the royal decree was received by the locals at the time, although now most Icelanders belong to the Evangelical-Lutheran Church of Iceland.

The view from the pulpit looking toward one of two organs.

The concert organ: “It has four manuals, a pedal, 72 stops and 5,275 pipes. It is 50 feet high and weighs 25 tons. The organ was financed by private gifts. Parishioners were offered the chance to buy individual pipes. There are still some available.”  (from church pamphlet) The organ is from Germany, installed in 1992. It’s recognized as the “largest in the country and world renowned for its quality of tone.”

Statue of Christ as you enter on your right.

The Hallgrímskirkja and its very tall steeple dominate the Reykjavík skyline. 

Down the main street from the  Hallgrímskirkja we came across this art contest where the city council asked first graders to draw the church. The easels displaying the artwork had to be bolted to the street to stand up to the heavy winds in Reykjavík.

Visited May, 2017 (Where did the time go?)