Strandarkirkja () is a

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...

( Church of Iceland) parish church in

Selvogur Strandarkirkja () is a Lutheran (Church of Iceland) parish church in Selvogur , on the southern coast of Iceland. The church is a landmark for travellers at sea. It has more supporters all over the world than any other church in Iceland and is of ...

, on the southern coast of

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 church is a landmark for travellers at sea. It has more supporters all over the world than any other church in Iceland and is often referred to as the 'miracle church' with the locals' longstanding belief that it has profound, divine powers.

History

The Church was originally built sometime in the 12th century. The story relates that there is one night when a group of sailors tried to navigate back to Iceland in a storm. The southern coast of Iceland is notorious for its hidden reefs and rough coast. The distressed sailors prayed to God for a safe return and vowed to build a church wherever they landed. When they ended their prayer an angel, seemingly made of light, appeared before their bow. The angel guided them through the rough surfs and led the crew into a bay for safe landing. The sailors, making good on the promise, built a wooden church at the site and named it Strandarkirkja. The bay nearby is named Angel's Bay (Engilsvík in Icelandic) to commemorate the incident. Many miracles have been attributed to Strandarkirkja and there was a time when it was one of the richest churches in Iceland from the donations of Icelanders coming from all over the country in hopes of having their prayers and wishes realized.

The Estate of Strönd

In earlier times Strönd (Coast in Icelandic) was a rich farm, where both sea and land gave generously. The pastures were rich, consisting of good land facing south for grazing sheep and sheltered from the cold northern wind by the mountain Hlíðarfjall 5–6 km north of Selvogur. The good fishing grounds were also not far away so the farmers in Selvogur reaped from both the land and the sea. In addition to this there were mentions of farmers collecting timber from woods nearby and having the right to collect eggs and kill birds in the sea-cliffs at Krísuvíkurberg.

Selvogur

Strandarkirkja served as the parish church of the community of

(Seal Cove in Icelandic). In the early days of Icelandic settlement the area had numerous substantial farms. The town is first mentioned in ''

Sturlunga Saga ''Sturlunga saga'' (often called simply ''Sturlunga'') is a collection of Icelandic sagas by various authors from the 12th and 13th centuries; it was assembled in about 1300. It mostly deals with the story of the Sturlungs, a powerful family clan ...

'', where

Gissur Þorvaldsson Gissur Thorvaldsson (1208 – 12 January 1268; Modern Icelandic: ; Old Norse: ) was a medieval Icelandic chieftain or ''goði'' of the Haukdælir family clan, and great-grandson of Jón Loftsson. Gissur played a major role in the period of ...

allows Dufgusi Þorleifsson take up residence there in the summer of 1238."Sturlunga saga", in: Rudolf Simek and

Hermann Pálsson Hermann Pálsson (26 May 1921 – 11 August 2002) was an Icelandic language scholar and translator, "one of the most distinguished scholars of Icelandic studies of his generation". Often working in collaboration with others such as Magnus Magnuss ...

, ''Lexikon der altnordischen Literatur'', Kröners Taschenausgabe 490, Stuttgart: Kröner, 1987, , pp. 339–41 Over the years, the town began to decline as wind and water

erosion Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as water flow or wind) that removes soil, rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust, and then transports it to another location where it is deposited. Erosion is distin ...

began to cause a collapse of the farming culture. The population has dwindled substantially as people started to move into cities, dropping to little more than 110 at the turn of the 20th Century and to 14 people in 2015. Selvogur remained one of the most isolated settlements in the region, with electricity not being available in the area until 1970. Around the church, many abandoned farmhouses and other ruins can be seen as a reminder and insight into the life of the settlement in the past. Selvogur now has only a couple of isolated farms and a popular free

campground A campsite, also known as a campground or camping pitch, is a place used for camping, overnight stay in an outdoor area. In British English, a ''campsite'' is an area, usually divided into a number of pitches, where people can camp overnight u ...

, as well as a café T-Bær for the

travelers Traveler(s), traveller(s), The Traveler(s), or The Traveller(s) may refer to: People Generic terms *One engaged in travel *Explorer, one who searches for the purpose of discovery of information or resources *Nomad, a member of a community withou ...

passing through.

Present day

Strandarkirkja still functions as a parish church, although only on occasion. There is no longer a regular service for the small populace of Selvogur. The church is open in summer, from mid-May to August, hosting biweekly services, and is also open on weekends in spring and autumn. In addition, masses are also held by the parish priest on

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...

Easter Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samuel ...

, and

Pentecost Pentecost (also called Whit Sunday, Whitsunday or Whitsun) is a Christianity, Christian holiday which takes place on the 50th day (the seventh Sunday) after Easter Sunday. It commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles in the Ne ...

. A harvest sermon (''Uppskerumessa'' ) is held at the end of August by ancient tradition to celebrate the end of the harvest season. There is also a fisherman's mass (''Veiðimannamessa'' ) in October that is open to all, but primarily caters to the hunters with their hunting cabin at the nearby Hlíðarvatn, a lake owned by the church. A statue of Norwegian granite carved by the Icelandic sculptor

Gunnfríður Jónsdóttir Gunnfríður Jónsdóttir (26 December 1889 – 1968), was an Icelandic sculptor born in the North West of Iceland. Family Gunnfríður's grandfather was Einar Andrésson, a rhymester who had been suspected of witchcraft.Davíðsson, Steingrí ...

(1889–1968) in 1950 called Landsýn , or 'Land in Sight', now stands by Strandarkirkja to commemorate the story of the church's founding. Gunnfríður Jónsdóttir herself is buried in the Strandarkirkja cemetery.
Kirkjukort, Strandarkirkja, retrieved 4 Feb 2020 (in Icelandic).

Gallery

File:Strandarkirkja.jpg, Strandarkirkja - exterior view File:Strandakirkja - interior view.jpg, Strandarkirkja - interior view File:Strandakirkja01.jpg, Strandarkirkja - exterior grounds with view of some graves File:Strandarkirkja02.jpg, Strandarkirkja - side view from the north towards the ocean

References

External links

* {{Authority control Churches in Iceland