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Hólar (; also Hólar í Hjaltadal ) is a small community in the
Skagafjörður Skagafjörður () is a deep fjord and its valley in northern Iceland. Location Skagafjörður, the fjord, is about 40 km long and 15 km wide, situated between Tröllaskagi to the east and the Skagi Peninsula to the west. There are t ...
district of northern
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 ...
.


Location

Hólar is in the Hjaltadalur valley, some from the national capital of
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 ...
. It has a population of around 100. It is the site of the main campus of Hólar University College, a site of historical buildings and archeological excavation, home to the Center for the history of the Icelandic horse, Hólar Cathedral, and the turf house Nýibær. The first
printing press A printing press is a mechanical device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a print medium (such as paper or cloth), thereby transferring the ink. It marked a dramatic improvement on earlier printing methods in which the ...
in Iceland was introduced to Hólar in 1530. Hólar Agricultural College was founded 1882, and was renamed Holar University College in 2003.


History

Near the end of the 10th century, King Olaf I of Norway convinced his subjects to accept Christianity, then sent Christian missionaries to Iceland, where they were quickly accepted; around 1000 Icelanders made a peaceful decision that all should convert. Despite this, the '' godar'', Iceland's ruling class, maintained their power. Some built their own churches; others were ordained. Holar was the Episcopal see for northern Iceland (whereas
Skálholt Skálholt (Modern Icelandic: ; non, Skálaholt ) is a historical site in the south of Iceland, at the river Hvítá. History Skálholt was, through eight centuries, one of the most important places in Iceland. A bishopric was established in Sk ...
served the same function for southern Iceland), and a cultural and educational centre for almost seven centuries (1106-1798). It was founded as a diocese in 1106 by bishop Jón Ögmundsson and soon became one of Iceland's two main centers of learning. It played an important part in the medieval politics of Iceland, and was the seat of Guðmundur Arason in his struggle with Icelandic chieftains during the time of the commonwealth. Under
Jón Arason Jón Arason (1484 – November 7, 1550) was an Icelandic Roman Catholic bishop and poet, who was executed in his struggle against the imposition of the Protestant Reformation in Iceland. Background Jón Arason was born in Gryta, educated at Mu ...
, Hólar was the last remaining stronghold of
Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
in Iceland during 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 ...
. The religious conflict was brutally resolved in 1550 when the last Catholic bishop, Jón Arason, was taken to the south of Iceland and beheaded, with his two sons, in Skálholt. The best known Lutheran bishop of Hólar was Guðbrandur Þorláksson. The construction of the present church is believed to have been completed in 1763.


See also

* List of bishops of Hólar


Photo gallery

File:Hólar3.jpg, Turf houses in Hólar File:Hólar1.jpg, Church in Hólar File:Hólar2.jpg, Hólar University College File:Auðunarstofa - Hólar Bishop's Office.jpg, Replica of Bishop's office


Sources

*This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed (1911). "Hólar". Encyclopædia Britannica (Eleventh ed.). Cambridge University Press.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Holar Populated places in Northwestern Region (Iceland) Viking Age populated places Catholic titular sees in Europe