Hallgrímskirkja Church in Reykjavík

Hallgrimskirkja, in Reykjavík, must be the best-known church of Iceland. It’s a Lutheran church located near the center of Reykjavík. The fact that it’s a Lutheran church isn’t very surprising as most of the Icelanders are Lutheran as well. Lutheranism is a religion and is the largest branch of Protestantism. Hallgrimskirkja church is 74.5 meters (244 ft) high. That makes it the highest church in Iceland and one of the tallest buildings in the whole country. The church was named after a famous Icelandic poet and clergyman named Hallgrímur Pétursson. 

Inside Hallgrimskirkja

The church attracts many visitors each year. The entrance is free, but if you want to climb the tower, there is an admission of 1000 ISK (€6,5) for an adult and 100 ISK (less than €1) for children. From this tower, you’ll have a magnificent view of the city. If the weather is good, you should definitely climb this tower. For those of you who are already imagining countless stairs now: don’t worry the climbing is done by an elevator!

The church is very imposing both because of its height and width. If you want to get a picture of the entire church, you’ll have to walk away from it and keep walking for quite some time! 

Inside the church, you can enjoy beautiful window paintings and a massive organ. In short, this church is worth the visit! Inside and out! 

In our opinion, this is the most modern church we’ve ever seen. It’s a big contradiction to most other churches we’ve visited and the interior looks completely different than what you’d expect of a church. Unlike most churches, there isn’t a lot of wood used inside. In the photo above you can see a picture we took of the altar of the church Hallgrimskirkja.

Hallgrimskirkja Organ

The organ of Hallgrimskirkja was built by the German Johannes Klais of Bonn (Germany). It’s 15 meters high and has 5275 pipes. The largest pipes are even 10 m long! As a result, the Hallgrimskirkja organ is quite heavy, it weighs 25 tonnes!

It’s the largest organ of Iceland. The organ is largely funded by private gifts who can buy one of the pipes of the organ. Those people then get a certificate saying they’re the ‘owner’ of that particular pipe. Some of the pipes are still up for sale!

Outside Hallgrimskirkja Church

The shape of the church is obviously also very interesting. The church was designed by Guðjón Samúelsson. He wanted the church to represent the beauty of Iceland. So he wanted to symbolize mountains and glaciers soaring up through hexagonal columnar basalt.

On the square in front of the church, you will also find a statue of Leif Erikson. This statue was given to the people of Iceland by the United States. They got this present in honor of the 1000th anniversary of the Icelandic Parliament or Alþingi in Icelandic. The Alþingi first came together in Þingvellir in the year 930.

The church is open for visitors from Monday till Sunday from 11 am to 4 pm and on Sunday from 10 am to 4 pm. The tower is closed 15 minutes before the church closes. On Sunday you cannot go up the tower when the Sunday ceremony is ongoing. Please do check if this information is still correct on the official website.