Kópavogskirkja () is a

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chris ...

Kópavogur Kópavogur () is a town in Iceland that is the country's second largest municipality by population. It lies immediately south of Reykjavík and is part of the Capital Region. The name literally means ''seal pup inlet''. The town seal contains th ...

, Iceland. It is located on Borgarholt hill at the top of Kársnes and offers a great view over

Reykjavík Reykjavík ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland, on the southern shore of Faxaflói bay. Its latitude is 64°08' N, making it the world's northernmost capital of a sovereign state. With a po ...

and surrounding area. Work on it began in 1958 and it was opened on December 16, 1963. The architectural style of Kópavogskirkja is

modernist Modernism is both a philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new forms of art, philosophy, an ...

. Its architecture is unusual, it is the cross section of two wide

arch An arch is a vertical curved structure that spans an elevated space and may or may not support the weight above it, or in case of a horizontal arch like an arch dam, the hydrostatic pressure against it. Arches may be synonymous with vaul ...

es. A curved arch protrudes in each direction with smaller arches extending below. Its profile is prominent in the

town

seal Seal may refer to any of the following: Common uses * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, or "true seal" ** Fur seal * Seal (emblem), a device to impr ...

. Architect Hörður Bjarnason together with Ragnar Emilsson designed this church. The church attracts the attention of both Icelanders and foreign tourists. The altarpiece in the church was set up in 1990 and is by artist Steinunni Þórarinsdóttir. Artist Barbara Árnason (1911–1975) designed various pictures that are in the church. Sculptor Gerður Helgadóttir (1928–1975) designed a sculptor.

References

External links

Official website
Kópavogur Churches in Iceland {{Iceland-church-stub