(), officially named () and often referred to as (), is a

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building gave its name ...

located in the western part of the Icelandic capital of Reykjavík and is the

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...

of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Reykjavík. It is the sole Catholic cathedral in Iceland.

Architecture

Landakotskirkja has a distinctively flat top instead of a standard spire. Its architect was

Guðjón Samúelsson Guðjón Samúelsson (16 April 1887 – 25 April 1950) was a State Architect of Iceland, and the first Icelander to be educated in architecture. He's been described as one of Iceland's most influential architects. His notable designs include the ...

, who also designed

Hallgrímskirkja Hallgrímskirkja (, ''Church of Hallgrímur'') is a Lutheran (Church of Iceland) parish church in Reykjavík, Iceland. At tall, it is the largest church in Iceland and among the tallest structures in the country. Known for its distinctively cur ...

, a Reykjavik landmark, and

Akureyrarkirkja Akureyrarkirkja (, regionally also ) or The Church of Akureyri is a prominent Lutheran church at Akureyri in northern Iceland. Located in the centre of the city, it was designed by Guðjón Samúelsson (1887–1950) and completed in 1940. Akur ...

in Akureyri, North Iceland.

History

The first

Catholic priest The priesthood is the office of the ministers of religion, who have been commissioned ("ordained") with the Holy orders of the Catholic Church. Technically, bishops are a priestly order as well; however, in layman's terms ''priest'' refers only ...

s to arrive in Iceland after the

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

were the Frenchmen

Bernard Bernard Bernard Bernard (21 July 1821 in Mogues, France – 28 October 1895) was a French Catholic priest and missionary in Norway, Iceland and Scotland. He was the first Prefect Apostolic of Norway and Lapland from 1869 to 1887. Life Bernard was educat ...

and

Jean-Baptiste Baudoin Jean-Baptiste Baudoin (11 January 1831 in Juniville, France – 15 November 1875 in Juniville) was a French Catholic priest and missionary in Iceland. Life Baudoin and Bernard Bernard (1821–1895) were the first Catholic priests serve in Iceland a ...

. They bought the Landakot farmstead in Reykjavík and settled there in the early 19th century. They built a small chapel in 1864. A few years later, a small wooden church was erected by Túngata, close to Landakot. After the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, Icelandic Catholics saw the need to build a bigger church for the growing number of Catholics. They decided to build a Neo-Gothic church and entrusted the task to the architect

. After years of construction, Landakotskirkja was finally sanctified on 23 July 1929. It was the largest church in Iceland at the time. Today, Landakotskirkja is a distinct landmark in western Reykjavík. The only Catholic school in Iceland was located nearby on the same land. A big part of the furniture comes from the renowned Atelier J.W. Ramakers & Sons sculptors from Geleen, Holland. Ramakers delivered in 1928 the timpan, both the side altars, the St. Joseph altar in 1905 and the Maria altar in 1928, in 1929 the pulpit. Atelier Ramakers made a design of the main altar, however it was never delivered.

External links

Landakotskirkja on the Icelandic Church Map

Roman Catholic Diocese of Reykjavík
{{in lang, en, is Gothic Revival church buildings in Iceland Churches in Reykjavík Basilica churches in Europe Cathedrals in Iceland Roman Catholic cathedrals in Europe Roman Catholic churches in Iceland Roman Catholic churches completed in 1929 Tourist attractions in Reykjavík 20th-century Roman Catholic church buildings

Architecture

History

See also

External links