Þingvallakirkja

The Þingvallakirkja, an Icelandic term which literally means "Church of the Parliament Plains" or "Church of Þingvellir", is a small church whose present building dates from 1859, but the first building was constructed on the initiative of the Norwegian King Olaf I at the time of Iceland's conversion to Christianity around the year 1000.

About this building

Key Features

  • Architecture

Visitors information

  • Parking within 250m

Other nearby buildings

Hallgrímskirkja

Hallgrímskirkja is a Lutheran church built in the years 1945-1986 in a Nordic expressionist style. It is one of Iceland's most recognizable landmarks and one of its tallest buildings.

Wikimedia Commons/TommyBee

Strandarkirkja

Strandarkirkja was built in 1888 and reconsecrated after renovations in 1968 and again in 1996. Many legends exist about the foundation of the first Strandarkirkja in the Middle Ages. Some say that the church was built by Gissur Teitsson, a famous Icelandic chieftain, others say that it was built with wood from the ship of a sailor lost at sea who had promised to donate all his wood for the construction of a church where it would be safely beached.