Hallgrimskirkja

The design

The design is said to echo the basalt columns of Iceland

State Architect Guðjón Samúelsson's design was commissioned in 1937. He is said to have designed it to resemble the trap rocks, mountains and glaciers of Iceland's landscape, in particular its columnar basalt formations.

41 years

It took 41 years to build, and the tower was finished first

Construction began in 1945 and ended in 1986. The crypt was consecrated in 1948, the steeple and wings were completed in 1974, and the nave was consecrated in 1986.

41years to build the church

The spire

Church leaders wanted a spire to outshine the Catholic cathedral

The church was originally intended to be shorter. The leaders of the Church of Iceland wanted a large spire to outshine Landakotskirkja, the cathedral of the Catholic Church in Iceland. At 74.5 metres it is the largest church in Iceland.

The organ

A Klais organ with 5275 pipes was finished in December 1992

In 1988 the church council decided the Frobenius organ was not big enough and commissioned another from the German builder Johannes Klais of Bonn. It is 15 metres tall and weighs 25 metric tons.

5275pipes in the Klais organ

The bells

The three largest bells are named for the poet and his family

The tower holds a carillon of 29 bells. The three largest, Hallgrímur, Guðríður and Steinunn, are named after Hallgrímur Pétursson, his wife and their daughter. The largest bell, Hallgrímur, also rings on the hour.