( in ) is the innermost town in

Höfðaströnd is a region on the coast around Hofsós on the eastern side of Skagafjörður, Iceland. Its southernmost farm is Gröf, and the closest to the sea is Höfði. The region is named after Þórðarhöfði, which is a predominant feature of the la ...

on the eastern side of

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, Skagi Peninsula to the west. Ther ...

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

History

The

hymn writer A hymnwriter (or hymn writer, hymnist, hymnodist, hymnographer, etc.) is someone who writes the text, music, or both of hymns. In the Judeo-Christian tradition, the composition of hymns dates back to before the time of David, who is traditionally ...

Hallgrímur Pétursson Hallgrímur Pétursson (1614 – 27 October 1674) was an Icelandic poet and a minister at Hvalsneskirkja and Saurbær in Hvalfjörður. Being one of the most prominent Icelandic poets, the Hallgrímskirkja in Reykjavík and the Hallgrímskirkja ...

was born there in 1614. In the 17th century, took on the role of the residence for bishops' widows; one of the widows who lived there the longest was Ragnheiður Jónsdóttir, widow of Bishop Gísli Þorláksson. Gísli, who died in 1684, was likely the one who had the church or chapel, which still stands in , built (or rebuilt) from the old church building. There has continuously been a

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

chapel in , including into the

Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

Church

's church is among the smallest and is the oldest in the country, according to its foundation, and it is the only

stave church A stave church is a medieval wooden Christian church building once common in north-western Europe. The name derives from the building's structure of post and lintel construction, a type of timber framing where the load-bearing ore-pine posts ...

. 's leading craftsman in the 17th century Guðmundur Guðmundsson í Bjarnastaðahlíð in

Vesturdalur Vesturdalur ("west valley") is a valley that runs from the head of Skagafjörður, Iceland and cuts far into the central Highlands of Iceland, highlands. Austurdalur valley runs parallel to it. The valleys are surrounded by tall, steep mountains ...

valley, who made the

baptismal font A baptismal font is an Church architecture, ecclesiastical architectural element, which serves as a receptacle for baptismal water used for baptism, as a part of Christian initiation for both rites of Infant baptism, infant and Believer's bapti ...

in the

Hólar Cathedral Hólar Cathedral (Icelandic language, Icelandic: ''Hóladómkirkja'') is a Church of Iceland cathedral church located in Hólar, Iceland. It is the official church of the Bishop of Hólar, currently Gísli Gunnarsson. History The Cathedral lost it ...

, is considered to have adorned the church and was possibly one of the builders. The church was dismantled, as were many other churches, on orders from the King of Norway in a 1765 letter and it was long used as a storehouse. The church came into the care of the

National Museum of Iceland The National Museum of Iceland ( Icelandic: ''Þjóðminjasafn Íslands'' ) was established on 24 February 1863, with Jón Árnason the first curator of the Icelandic collection, previously kept in Danish museums. Collections The second curat ...

in 1939 and was

retrofitted Retrofitting is the addition of new technology or features to older systems. Retrofits can happen for a number of reasons, for example with big capital expenditures like naval vessels, military equipment or manufacturing plants, businesses or go ...

around 1950; the wood turned out to be so rotten that all of it had to be replaced with new boards that were cut to exactly the same size as the old ones. The church was reconsecrated in 1953. The churchyard was, around the same time, refilled behind the ruins of the circular wall which were still just visible. The bell gate is new, but was built in the style of the church.

References

{{Authority control Skagafjörður Populated places in Northwestern Region (Iceland)