Hallgrímskirkja (, ''Church of Hallgrímur'') is a Protestant

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

( Church of Iceland) parish church in

Reykjavík Reykjavík is the Capital city, capital and largest city in Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland on the southern shore of Faxaflói, the Faxaflói Bay. With a latitude of 64°08′ N, the city is List of northernmost items, the worl ...

, Iceland. At tall, it is the largest church in Iceland and among the tallest structures in the country. Known for its distinctively curved spire and side wings, it has been described as having become an important symbol for Iceland's national identity since its completion in 1986. The church is named after the Icelandic poet and cleric

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 ...

(1614–1674), author of the

Passion Hymns The ''Passíusálmar'' or ''Passion Hymns'' are a collection of 50 poetic texts written by the Icelandic minister and poet, Hallgrímur Pétursson. The texts explore the Passion narrative, as traditionally presented, from the point where Chr ...

Description

Situated on the hilltop Skólavörðuholt near the centre of Reykjavík, the church is one of the city's best-known landmarks and is visible throughout the city. State Architect Guðjón Samúelsson's design of the church was commissioned in 1937. He is said to have designed it to resemble the trap rocks,

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher t ...

s and

glacier A glacier (; or ) is a persistent body of dense ice, a form of rock, that is constantly moving downhill under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires ...

s of Iceland's landscape, in particular its columnar basalt "organ pipe" formations (such as those at Svartifoss). The design is similar in style to the

expressionist architecture Expressionist architecture was an architectural movement in Europe during the first decades of the 20th century in parallel with the expressionism, expressionist visual and performing arts that especially developed and dominated in Germany. Bri ...

of Grundtvig's Church of

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

, Denmark, completed in 1940, which has been described as a likely influence, alongside the expressionist

Kirche am Hohenzollernplatz Kirche am Hohenzollernplatz (''Church at Hohenzollernplatz'') is the church of the Prussian Union (Evangelical Christian Church), Evangelical Congregation at Hohenzollernplatz, a member of today's Protestant umbrella Evangelical Church of Berlin- ...

in Berlin, Germany (completed in 1933). Architecturally, Hallgrímskirkja consists of three parts: the tower with the distinctly curved side wings which house service facilities, a

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

in more traditional architecture, and a sanctuary at the other end of the nave, whose cylindrical shape has been described as evoking Viking war helmets. Hallgrímskirkja also has a 244 ft (74.37 meters) dome. Inside the church you can light a candle for a dead family member for 100 ISK (0.78 USD). Hallgrímskirkja is best described as a piece of Expressionist architecture because of its tower-like exterior, its rejection of traditional styles and its dynamic design. It was heavily influenced by another building, Grundtvigskirken. Like Hallgrímskirkja, Grundtvigskirken, has an organ-like appearance. It took 41 years to build the church: construction started in 1945 and ended in 1986, but the landmark tower was completed long before the whole church was finished. The

crypt A crypt (from Greek κρύπτη (kryptē) ''wikt:crypta#Latin, crypta'' "Burial vault (tomb), vault") is a stone chamber beneath the floor of a church or other building. It typically contains coffins, Sarcophagus, sarcophagi, or Relic, religiou ...

beneath the choir was

consecrated Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects (a ...

in 1948, the steeple and wings were completed in 1974, and the

was consecrated in 1986. At the time of construction, the building was criticized as too old-fashioned and as a blend of different architectural styles. The church was originally intended to be less tall, but the leaders of the Church of Iceland wanted a large spire to outshine Landakotskirkja (Landakot's Church), which was the cathedral of the Catholic Church in Iceland. The interior is . Einar Jónsson donated the statue of Jesus to the church in 1948, which stands right next to the entrance to the nave. Jesus receives the Holy Spirit after being baptized in the Jordan. The church is also used as an

observation tower An observation tower is a tower used to view events from a long distance and to create a full 360 degree range of vision to conduct long distance observations. Observation towers are usually at least tall and are made from stone, iron, and woo ...

. An observer can take a lift up to the viewing deck and view Reykjavík and the surrounding mountains. The statue of explorer

Leif Erikson Leif Erikson, also known as Leif the Lucky (), was a Norsemen, Norse explorer who is thought to have been the first European to set foot on continental Americas, America, approximately half a millennium before Christopher Columbus. According ...

(c.970 – c.1020) by

Alexander Stirling Calder Alexander Stirling Calder (January 11, 1870 – January 7, 1945) was an American sculpture, sculptor and teacher. He was the son of sculptor Alexander Milne Calder and the father of sculptor Alexander Calder, Alexander (Sandy) Calder. His best-kn ...

in front of the church predates its construction. It was a gift from the United States in honor of the 1930

Althing The (; ), anglicised as Althingi or Althing, is the Parliamentary sovereignty, supreme Parliament, national parliament of Iceland. It is the oldest surviving parliament in the world. The Althing was founded in 930 at ('Thing (assembly), thing ...

Millennial Festival, commemorating the 1000th anniversary of the convening of Iceland's

parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

Þingvellir Þingvellir (, anglicised as ThingvellirThe spelling ''Pingvellir'' is sometimes seen, although the letter "p" is unrelated to the letter thorn (letter), "þ" (thorn), which is pronounced as "th".) was the site of the Althing, Alþing, the annual ...

in 930 AD.

Bells

The church has a carillon of 29 bells in the tower. The three largest bells, Hallgrímur, Guðríður, and Steinunn, are named after Hallgrímur, his wife, and their daughter. The carillon is an instrument where bells are played from a keyboard. The bells ring every 15 minutes during the week from 9 AM to 9 PM and on weekends and holidays from noon to 9 PM, when the Protestant services are not held. The largest bell, Hallgrímur, also rings on the hour.

Organ

The church houses two large pipe organs. The first, a Rieger-Kloss organ was installed in 1946. It was moved to the South Wing when it opened and a new organ was built. The next pipe organ was commissioned from Frobenius in 1985. Soon after, in 1988 the church council decided that the Frobenius pipe organ wasn't big enough and commissioned another from the German organ builder Johannes Klais of

Bonn Bonn () is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This ...

. It has electronic action; the pipes are remote from the four manuals and pedal console. There are 102 ranks, 72 stops and 5275 pipes. It is tall and weighs . Its construction was finished in December 1992.

Gallery

File:View from the top of Hallgrímskirkja.JPG, View north from the top of Hallgrímskirkja File:Hallgrímskirkja - Last Christmas (3160371678).jpg,

Chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the Choir (architecture), choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may termi ...

of Hallgrimskirkja File:Hallgrímskirkja at night.jpg, Hallgrímskirkja at night File:Interior of Hallgrímskirkja Church.jpg,

Nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

of Hallgrimskirkja File:Hallgrímskirja Pipe Organ.jpg, The pipe organ File:Hallgrímskirkja Front Door.jpg, Main door File:201708 Hallgrímskirkja b34.jpg, Sanctuary File:Reykjavik-38-Hallgrimskirche-Orgel-Organist Solbergsson-2018-gje.jpg, Jesus statue and the organ with organist Solbergsson (2018) File:Iceland Images for April 2016 03.JPG, Side view of Hallgrímskirkja at night File:Reykjavik-32-Hallgrimskirche-Leifur Eiriksson-2018-gje.jpg,

Statue A statue is a free-standing sculpture in which the realistic, full-length figures of persons or animals are carved or Casting (metalworking), cast in a durable material such as wood, metal or stone. Typical statues are life-sized or close to ...

References

External links

* *
Hallgrímskirkja on the Icelandic Church Map
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hallgrimskirkja Towers in Iceland Churches completed in 1986 Churches in Reykjavík Art Deco architecture Terminating vistas Tourist attractions in Reykjavík Expressionist architecture