Reykjavík Cathedral ( Icelandic: ''Dómkirkjan í Reykjavík'') is a

cathedral church A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the ''cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral ...

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 ...

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

, the seat of the

Bishop of Iceland The following is a list of Lutheran bishops of Iceland. List See also * List of Skálholt bishops *List of Hólar bishops A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to: People * List (surname) Organizations ...

and

mother church Mother church or matrice is a term depicting the Christian Church as a mother in her functions of nourishing and protecting the believer. It may also refer to the primary church of a Christian denomination or diocese, i.e. a cathedral or a metro ...

of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Iceland, as well as the parish church of the old city centre and environs. It is located at

Austurvöllur Austurvöllur () is a public square in Reykjavík, Iceland. The square is a popular gathering place for the citizens of Reykjavík, and especially during good weather due to the prevalence of cafés on Vallarstræti and Pósthússtræti. It has ...

, and next to it is

Alþingishúsið Alþingishúsið (, ''The Parliament House'') is a classical 19th century structure which stands by Austurvöllur in central Reykjavík, Iceland. It houses ''Alþingi'', the Icelandic parliament. The building was designed by Danish architect Fer ...

(the parliament house). Since Iceland's parliament, the Alþingi, was resurrected in 1845, each session of parliament has begun with a Mass at the cathedral, and from there the dean of the cathedral leads the members of parliament to the parliament house.

History and architecture

The cathedral was constructed in 1787 from a design by royal building inspector Andreas Hallander. This building was demolished in 1847 to make way for a somewhat larger church building.

Furnishings

The organ boasts three manuals and thirty-one independent voices and was built in Berlin by the

Karl Schuke Berliner Orgelbauwerkstatt Karl Ludwig Alexander Schuke (6 November 1906 – 7 May 1987) was a German organ builder. The son of the organ builder Alexander Schuke, he continued, together with his brother Hans-Joachim Schuke, to run their father's company in Potsdam until ...

References

*Hjörleifur Stefánsson, Guðný Gerður Gunnarsdóttir and Hjörleifur Stefánsson. 1987. ''Kvosin – Byggingarsaga miðbæjar Reykjavíkur''. Torfusamtökin, Reykjavík.

External links

Website of Reykjavík Cathedral
(in Icelandic)

(in Icelandic) {{DEFAULTSORT:Reykjavik Cathedral Churches in Reykjavík Cathedrals in Iceland Church of Iceland