Hallgrimskirkja Church Iceland

A Very Awesome Place The Reykjavik Rocket

Hallgrimskirkja Church Iceland 

Hallgrimskirkja church is Reykjavik's main landmark and its tower can be seen from almost everywhere in the city. It is located at the top of central arts and designs shopping street Skolavordustigur. It is the largest church in Iceland, and the 73-metre high church tower offers a stunning view.

Opening hours in Hallgrímskirkja: Every day from 9am - 5pm.
 

The concrete building was designed by former state architect Gudjon Samuelson and is meant to resemble volcanic basalt rock formations. The church was built over 40 years and opened in 1986. It is named after Reverend and hymn writer Hallgrimur Petursson. In front of it is a statue of Iceland-born Leifur Eiriksson, aka 'Leif the Lucky', the first European to discover America around 1,000 A.D. Sadly he kind of forgot to tell anyone else where it was, so Christopher Columbus got to do it all over again five hundred years later.

The Hallgrimskirkja church of Hallgrimur is a Lutheran Church of Iceland parish church in Reykjavik, Iceland. At 74.5 metres (244 ft), it is the largest church in Iceland and the sixth tallest architectural structure in Iceland after Longwave radio mast Hellissandur, the radio masts of US Navy at Grindavik, Eioar longwave transmitter and Smaratorg tower.The church is named after the Icelandic poet and clergyman Hallgrimur Petursson (1614 to 1674), author of the Passion Hymns.

State Architect Guojon Samuelsson's design of the church was commissioned in 1937. He is said to have designed it to resemble the basalt lava flows of Iceland's landscape.It took 38 years to build the church. Construction work began in 1945 and ended in 1986, the landmark tower being completed long before the church's actual completion. The crypt beneath the choir was consecrated in 1948, the steeple and wings were completed in 1974,and the name was consecrated in 1986. Situated in the centre of Reykjavik, it is one of the city's best-known landmarks and is visible throughout the city. It is similar in style to the expressionist architecture of Grundtvig's Church of Copenhagen, Denmark, completed in 1940.

The church houses a large pipe organ by the German organ builder Johannes Klais of Bonn. It has mechanical action, four manuals and pedal, 102 ranks, 72 stops and 5275 pipes.It is 15 metres tall and weighs 25 tons. Its construction was finished in December 1992. It has been recorded by Christopher Herrick in his Organ Fireworks.

The church is also used as an observation tower. An observer can take a lift up to the viewing deck and view Reykjavik and the surrounding mountains. The statue of explorer Leif Eriksson (c. 970 – c. 1020) by Alexander Stirling Calder in front of the church predates its construction. It was a gift from the United States in honor of the 1930 Alþingi Millennial Festival, commemorating the 1000th anniversary of Iceland's parliament at Pingvellir in 930 AD.

In 2008, the church underwent a major restoration of the main tower, and was covered in scaffolding. In late 2009, restoration was completed and the scaffolding was removed.

The church holds services at 11:00 Sundays. The wonderful acoustics make it a majestic host to classical concerts and musical events. The church organ is the largest of its kind in Iceland. The church tower is open every day from 09:00 - 20:00 and is definitely worth seeing if you like splendid vistas. The price is 600 ISK for adults and 100 ISK for children between 7 and 14 years old.

The cathedral’s stylized facades are the common architecture that is seen all over Iceland, resembling basalt formations that are specific to the country. The church houses a huge organ (1992) bearing the signature of the German organ master, Klais. The bell, located in the huge tower, attracts the attention of all the pilgrims that walk inside. With eight floors, the tower offers to visitors an impressive view of the city and its surroundings. To reach the top of the tower you must use an elevator. The statue in front of the church is Leifur Eriksson's, an Icelandic-Norwegian explorer, considered as the first European to set foot on North American soil. The statue monument is a gift of the United States to the city in 1930. The receiving of the monument took place during the festive ceremonies that celebrated 1000 years of the Icelandic Parliament.

What is a Cathedral?