Iceland

The largest church in Iceland, designed by State Architect Guðjón Samúelsson in 1937 and built over forty-one years from 1945 until its consecration on October 26, 1986. Its stepped concrete facade evokes the columnar basalt formations of the Icelandic landscape, with a tower rising 73 meters (or 74.5 meters in some sources). The church is named after Hallgrímur Pétursson, the 17th-century pastor and poet of the Passion Hymns, and houses a 5,275-pipe Klais organ.

Hallgrímstorg 1, 101 Reykjavík

Photo: Andreas Tille, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

The mother cathedral of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Iceland standing beside Parliament House on Austurvollur Square in central Reykjavik, constructed between 1787 and 1796 following the transfer of the ancient episcopal see from Skalholt, renowned for its white Carrara marble baptismal font sculpted in Rome in 1827 by Bertel Thorvaldsen and as the historic sanctuary where Iceland's national anthem was first sung in 1874.

Central Cathedral of the Bishop of Iceland within the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Iceland (Thjodkirkjan) and Listed National Architectural Monument of the Republic of IcelandAusturvollur Square, Kirkjustraeti, 101 Reykjavik, Republic of Iceland

Photo: Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

The cathedral of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Reykjavik and the northernmost Papal Minor Basilica in the world, crowning Landakot Hill in western Reykjavik, designed in a distinctive flat-topped Neo-Gothic and basalt-inspired concrete style by Iceland's State Architect Gudjon Samuelsson and consecrated on July 23, 1929.

Cathedral of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Reykjavik, Northernmost Papal Minor Basilica in the World (proclaimed by Pope John Paul II in 1999), and Listed National Architectural Monument of IcelandLandakot Hill, Tungata 15, Vesturbaer District, 101 Reykjavik, Republic of Iceland

Photo: Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

The spiritual, educational, and cultural capital of Iceland for over seven centuries beside the Hvita River in Southern Iceland, where Iceland's first bishop Isleifur Gissurarson established his see in 1056 and patron saint Thorlakur Thorhallsson ministered, crowned today by the tenth cathedral on the site (consecrated in 1963) housing 25 stained-glass windows by Gerdur Helgadottir, an altar mosaic by Nina Tryggvadottir, and the thirteenth-century stone sarcophagus of Bishop Pall Jonsson in the crypt.

Historic Cathedral and Suffragan Episcopal See of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Iceland, First Spiritual and Educational Capital of Iceland (1056 to 1785), and National Archaeological SanctuarySkalholt Historic Site, Route 31 (Skalholtsvegur), Blaskogabyggd Municipality, 806 Selfoss, Republic of Iceland

Photo: Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

The architectural landmark of Akureyri (the capital of Northern Iceland) rising atop Eyrarlandsholt Hill at the head of a grand 112-step staircase overlooking the Eyjafjordur fjord, designed with a twin-towered basalt-inspired concrete facade by State Architect Gudjon Samuelsson and consecrated on November 17, 1940, celebrated for its choir reliefs by Asmundur Sveinsson, suspended votive ship model, historic British stained-glass windows, and 3,200-pipe Steinmeyer organ.

Central Regional Church of Northern Iceland within the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Iceland (Thjodkirkjan) and Protected National Architectural Monument of the Republic of IcelandEyrarlandsholt Hill, Eyrarlandsvegur, 600 Akureyri, Republic of Iceland

Photo: Kenny McFly, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons