West of the historic center of Reykjavik, in the residential district of Vesturbaer overlooking the cold expanse of Faxafloi Bay, rises the grassy crest of Landakotshaed (Landakot Hill). Crowning the summit is a commanding grey concrete sanctuary whose silhouette resembles a Nordic spiritual fortress: its tall western bell tower terminates not in a conventional pointed steeple, but in a square, flat-topped parapet ribbed with vertical buttresses that echo the hexagonal volcanic basalt cliffs of the Icelandic coast. This is the Cathedral Basilica of Christ the King (known in Icelandic as Basilika Krists konungs or Domkirkja Krists konungs), cherished by residents of Reykjavik of every faith simply as Landakotskirkja.
On the global map of the Catholic tradition, Landakotskirkja holds a unique geographical distinction: it serves as the sole cathedral of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Reykjavik (which encompasses the entire island nation of Iceland) and stands at 64.1475 degrees north latitude as the northernmost Papal Minor Basilica in the world. Whereas Reykjavik Cathedral (Domkirkjan) down on Austurvollur Square represents the state Evangelical Lutheran tradition established in the late eighteenth century and Skalholt Cathedral preserves the memory of Iceland's medieval bishopric, Landakotskirkja embodies the quiet nineteen-century rebirth of Catholic life in Iceland after more than three centuries of prohibition following 1550, while standing as the first monumental ecclesiastical work of State Architect Gudjon Samuelsson prior to his design of Akureyrarkirkja in the north.
IThe Titular Mystery of Christ the King, Pope Pius XI's Lebanon Cedar Statue, and Saint Thorlak of Iceland
The liturgical title of Landakotskirkja is the Cathedral Basilica of Christ the King (Basilika Krists konungs in Icelandic, Cathedralis Basilica Christi Regis in Latin). That dedication is directly linked to a milestone in twentieth-century Catholic theology: on December 11, 1925, at the close of the Holy Year marking the 1,600th anniversary of the First Council of Nicaea (325 to 1925), Pope Pius XI promulgated the encyclical Quas primas, instituting the universal Feast of Jesus Christ the King to proclaim the spiritual sovereignty of Christ's peace and charity over a world scarred by the First World War and rising totalitarian ideologies.
When construction of the new concrete cathedral on Landakot Hill in Reykjavik began in 1926 and reached completion in the summer of 1929, Pope Pius XI took a personal interest in the fledgling Catholic mission of the far north. He bestowed upon the church the title of Christ the King, making Landakotskirkja one of the earliest cathedrals anywhere in the world consecrated under that title after Quas primas, and sent from Rome as his personal consecration gift a monumental statue of Christ the King carved from Lebanon cedarwood to stand above the high altar.
Alongside devotion to Christ the King and the Blessed Virgin Mary, the spiritual identity of Landakotskirkja is deeply rooted in the veneration of Saint Thorlak (Heilagur Thorlakur Thorhallsson, 1133 to 1193), the preeminent native saint of the Icelandic nation. Born at Hlidarendi in southern Iceland, ordained a priest before the age of twenty, educated in Paris and Lincoln (England), founder of the first Augustinian canonry in Iceland at Thykkvabaer, and sixth Bishop of Skalholt from 1178 until his death on December 23, 1193, Saint Thorlak was revered for his monastic asceticism, care for the poor, and defense of ecclesiastical integrity.
Just five years after his passing, in the summer of 1198, the Althingi parliament authorized the public liturgical veneration of Bishop Thorlak across Iceland, and his relics were translated to the altar of Skalholt on July 20, 1198. Nearly eight centuries later, on January 14, 1984, Pope John Paul II issued an apostolic brief formally confirming the ancient cultus of Saint Thorlak in the universal Roman Martyrology and proclaiming him Principal Patron Saint of Iceland. Inside Landakotskirkja, Saint Thorlak and fellow medieval Icelandic churchmen such as Saint Jon Ogmundsson (first Bishop of Holar, 1052 to 1121) are honored in stained glass, side altars, and the very bells in the tower.
The rise of a Catholic basilica on Landakot Hill represents a remarkable chapter of perseverance through Iceland's modern history. After the execution of the last pre-Reformation Catholic bishop of Iceland, Bishop Jon Arason of Holar, and his two sons at Skalholt on November 7, 1550, Catholic liturgy was strictly outlawed across the island for more than three hundred years under Danish royal absolutism. Only in 1857 and 1858 did two French missionary priests of the Apostolic Prefecture of the North Pole (Praefectura Apostolica Poli Arctici), Father Bernard Bernard (1821 to 1895) and Father Jean-Baptiste Baudoin (1831 to 1875), arrive in Iceland.
In 1859, Fathers Bernard and Baudoin purchased the wind-swept farmstead of Landakot on the western hill outside the town of Reykjavik. Fifteen years before the Icelandic Constitution of 1874 formally guaranteed freedom of public worship, the two French priests quietly tended the sick, taught local children, and erected a small wooden chapel at Landakot in 1864 (Father Baudoin's nineteenth-century timber house still stands preserved immediately south of the basilica). After a pause in missionary activity, priests of the Company of Mary (Montfort Missionaries) and the Sisters of Saint Joseph of Chambery arrived at Landakot in 1895 and 1896. Within six years they built a timber Neo-Gothic church (1897), founded Landakot School (Landakotsskoli, 1896), and opened Saint Joseph's Hospital at Landakot (Landakotsspitali, 1902, the first modern hospital in Reykjavik), earning the enduring gratitude of the entire Icelandic population.
Visitors gazing up at the western facade of Landakotskirkja often wonder why a Neo-Gothic cathedral has a flat, square-topped tower rather than a pointed spire, sometimes assuming that funds ran out before a steeple could be added. In truth, the flat-topped tower was a deliberate and pioneering design choice by Iceland's first State Architect, Gudjon Samuelsson. When drafting plans for Landakotskirkja in 1926, Samuelsson sought to move beyond the pointed wooden steeples of nineteenth-century Danish timber churches and forge an authentic Icelandic sacred architecture in cast concrete. By combining the proportions of English and French flat-topped Gothic towers with continuous vertical ribs inspired by Iceland's columnar basalt cliffs (studlaberg), he created a tower silhouette that harmonizes with the rugged volcanic landscape and withstands fierce North Atlantic winter gales.
IIFrom the 1859 Landakot Mission and the 1929 Concrete Cathedral to the Pilgrimage of Pope John Paul II
Over the span of a century and a half since the purchase of Landakot farm in 1859, the Catholic Church in Iceland has grown from a handful of foreign residents into the country's second-largest religious community, numbering over 15,000 faithful from Iceland, Poland, the Philippines, Vietnam, Lithuania, Spain, and Latin America gathered around Landakotskirkja.
- 1859 to 1864French missionaries Bernard Bernard and Jean-Baptiste Baudoin purchase LandakotPriests of the Prefecture Apostolic of the North Pole acquire the hilltop farmstead of Landakot in 1859 and build a small wooden chapel in 1864, prior to the 1874 constitutional grant of religious freedom.
- 1896 to 1902Montfort Missionaries and Sisters of St. Joseph found Landakot School, Church, and HospitalArriving in 1895 to 1896, Montfort Fathers and Sisters of Saint Joseph of Chambery establish Landakotsskoli (1896), a timber Neo-Gothic church (1897), and Landakotsspitali hospital (1902).
- June 12, 1923 and 1929Pope Pius XI establishes the Apostolic Prefecture and Apostolic Vicariate of IcelandThe Holy See erects the Apostolic Prefecture of Iceland in 1923 and elevates it to an Apostolic Vicariate in 1929 under Dutch Montfortian Bishop Martin Meulenberg (1872 to 1941).
- 1926 to July 23, 1929Gudjon Samuelsson builds Landakotskirkja and Cardinal van Rossum consecrates the cathedralState Architect Gudjon Samuelsson designs the reinforced concrete Neo-Gothic sanctuary, then the largest church in Iceland; on July 23, 1929, Cardinal Willem Marinus van Rossum presides over its solemn consecration.
- October 18, 1968Pope Paul VI elevates the mission to the Diocese of ReykjavikThe Holy See establishes the full Diocese of Reykjavik (Dioecesis Reykiavikensis) covering all of Iceland, with Landakotskirkja as its episcopal cathedral.
- January 14, 1984Pope John Paul II proclaims Saint Thorlak Patron Saint of IcelandBy papal brief, Pope John Paul II formally confirms the canonization of twelfth-century Bishop Thorlakur Thorhallsson of Skalholt and declares him Patron Saint of Iceland.
- June 3 and 4, 1989Historic apostolic visit of Pope John Paul II to LandakotskirkjaDuring the first papal visit in Icelandic history, Pope John Paul II celebrates Pontifical Mass at Landakotskirkja and leads an ecumenical prayer gathering at Thingvellir.
- July 23, 1999Elevation of Landakotskirkja to the world's northernmost Papal Minor BasilicaOn the seventieth anniversary of its consecration (1929 to 1999) on the eve of the Great Jubilee 2000, Pope John Paul II grants Landakotskirkja the title and dignity of a Papal Minor Basilica.
Nobel laureate Halldor Laxness and the spiritual legacy of Landakot Hill. In modern Nordic literary history, Landakotskirkja is inextricably linked with Iceland's sole Nobel Prize laureate in Literature (1955), the novelist Halldor Kiljan Laxness (1902 to 1998). In late 1922, the twenty-year-old writer entered the Benedictine Abbey of Saint Maurice at Clervaux in Luxembourg, where he was baptized and received into the Catholic Church in January 1923, taking the middle name Kiljan after the Irish missionary martyr Saint Kilian. Returning to Iceland during the 1920s, young Laxness lived and wrote in close association with the clergy and community on Landakot Hill during the very years when the new cathedral was rising.
Although Laxness later explored socialist and humanist themes across his vast literary career, he retained a lifelong affection for the quiet devotion, Latin liturgy, and selfless charity of the priests and sisters of Landakot. His celebrated 1972 novel Brekkukotsannall (published in English as The Fish Can Sing) vividly evokes the old neighborhoods around Landakot Hill at the turn of the twentieth century. When Halldor Laxness died in February 1998 at the age of ninety-five, in accordance with his wishes and those of his family, his state funeral Requiem Mass was celebrated inside the Basilica of Christ the King (Landakotskirkja) in the presence of the President of Iceland and the nation's cultural leaders.
IIIGudjon Samuelsson's Basalt-Ribbed Neo-Gothic Concrete, Ribbed Vaults, and Stained Glass of Icelandic Saints
Completed in 1929, the Basilica of Christ the King represents a watershed in the career of Iceland's pioneering State Architect Gudjon Samuelsson (1887 to 1950). Constructed entirely of cast-in-place reinforced concrete (a material Samuelsson elevated into Iceland's national architectural medium in a land devoid of timber forests and freestone quarries), the basilica follows a Latin cross plan measuring approximately 40 meters in length, anchored by its commanding eastern entrance tower.
The main facade is dominated by a lofty square bell tower crowned by a flat battlemented parapet rather than a spire. Running uninterrupted up the corners of the tower and along the exterior nave walls are slender vertical concrete buttresses that echo the hexagonal basalt columns (studlaberg) of Icelandic volcanic cliffs. Suspended in the belfry are three bronze bells cast in 1929 and dedicated to Christ the King, the Virgin Mary, and Saint Thorlak.
Passing through the pointed portal into the nave reveals a serene, light-filled Neo-Gothic hall: overhead rises a continuous ceiling of pointed quadripartite ribbed groin vaults cast in concrete and painted in soft ivory white and pale Nordic grey-blue. Octagonal piers separate the central nave from the side aisles leading toward the transepts and the five-sided polygonal apse.
Elevated above the high altar at the center of the eastern sanctuary stands the larger-than-life statue of Jesus Christ the King carved from aromatic Lebanon cedarwood (Cedrus libani) and presented personally by Pope Pius XI for the cathedral's consecration on July 23, 1929. Depicting Christ crowned in majesty with arms outstretched in blessing beneath the Cross, it anchors the entire visual axis of the church.
Illuminating the polygonal apse, transepts, and nave walls are tall pointed lancet windows fitted with rich ruby-red and cobalt-blue stained glass crafted in Germany around 1929. Alongside depictions of Christ the King, the Virgin Mary, Saint Joseph, Saints Peter and Paul, Saint Ansgar (Apostle of the North), and Saint Olaf of Norway, the windows honor Iceland's own medieval holy bishops: Saint Thorlakur Thorhallsson of Skalholt, Saint Jon Ogmundsson of Holar, and Bishop Gudmundur the Good (Gudmundur Arason).
Flanking the main sanctuary in the north and south transept arms are two side chapels and altars: one dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, where votive candles burn continuously, and the other honoring Saint Joseph and Saint Thorlak, Patron of Iceland, where a relic and carved image of the twelfth-century Bishop of Skalholt are venerated alongside the fourteen Stations of the Cross lining the aisle walls.
Surrounding the basilica atop Landakot Hill is a historic Catholic precinct: immediately south of the concrete church stands the preserved nineteenth-century timber mission house built during the era of Father Jean-Baptiste Baudoin, alongside the Bishop's Residence, Landakot School, and an outdoor Lourdes Grotto constructed of rough Icelandic volcanic lava rock sheltering a statue of Our Lady of Lourdes.
| Architectural Component or Treasure | Date and Architect or Origin | Technical Features and Liturgical Significance |
|---|---|---|
| Reinforced Concrete Nave and Flat-Topped Tower | 1926 to 1929 (State Architect Gudjon Samuelsson) | 40 m cruciform concrete basilica fusing Neo-Gothic rib vaults with basalt-inspired exterior buttresses |
| Sanctuary Statue of Christ the King | 1929 (consecration gift of Pope Pius XI from Rome) | Carved from Lebanon cedarwood to commemorate the 1925 encyclical Quas primas |
| Pointed Stained-Glass Windows | 1929 to 1930s (German stained-glass workshops) | Depicts Christ the King, the Apostles, and Icelandic saints Thorlakur Thorhallsson and Jon Ogmundsson |
| Three Cathedral Bronze Bells | 1929 (cast for the cathedral consecration) | Consecrated in honor of Christ the King, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and Saint Thorlak |
| Historic Mission House and Lourdes Grotto | 19th century (Father Baudoin era) and 20th century | Preserved timber mission house from the 1860s and volcanic lava-stone Marian grotto in the garden |
IVThe Lie of the Land and the Facing
It should be stated clearly that the Catholic Church in Iceland and State Architect Gudjon Samuelsson did not employ East Asian geomancy (feng shui) in siting or designing the Basilica of Christ the King. The location originated with the 1859 purchase of Landakot farmstead on the hill west of Reykjavik by French missionaries, and the building's placement responds to the hilltop ridge and urban approach from the city center. The observations below offer a comparative landform reading through the framework of the Hall of Myriad Paths library.
Viewed within the macro-topography of the Reykjavik peninsula at coordinates 64.1475 degrees north, 21.9489 degrees west, the Basilica of Christ the King crowns the summit of the basalt hill of Landakotshaed on the western flank of the historic city center. Together with the eastern hill of Skolavorduholt (crowned by Hallgrimskirkja), Landakot Hill forms one of the two natural guardian mounds framing the central Kvosin basin and Lake Tjornin. Looking north and northeast from the hilltop precinct opens a sweeping vista across Reykjavik's Old Harbour and the wide waters of Kollafjordur and Faxafloi Bay toward the 914-meter volcanic wall of Mount Esja, which stands across the water as a grand horizon screen mountain.
In terms of axial orientation and spatial gathering, Gudjon Samuelsson aligned the basilica along the crest of the hill on a west-to-east axis in which the tall flat-topped entrance tower faces East toward downtown Reykjavik, Austurvollur Square, and the rising sun, while the polygonal sanctuary apse rests to the West overlooking the Vesturbaer peninsula and the Atlantic Ocean. In front of the eastern entrance tower opens a broad forecourt and gently sloping green lawn along Tungata, creating an unobstructed, elevated bright hall that welcomes pilgrims climbing up from the old town below while anchoring the western skyline of the capital.
VThe Solemnity of Christ the King, the Two Feasts of Saint Thorlak, and Multicultural Liturgy in the Far North
Liturgical life at the Basilica of Christ the King follows the Roman Catholic liturgical calendar on the Gregorian system, enriched by Iceland's medieval saintly heritage and the vibrant participation of international Catholic communities living in Iceland.
| Time of Year | Calendar System | Liturgical Solemnity or Feast | Traditions and Rites at the Basilica of Christ the King (Landakotskirkja) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Last Sunday of the Liturgical Year (late November) | Gregorian (Patronal Solemnity) | Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe (Hatid Krists konungs) | Titular patronal feast of the cathedral basilica: Pontifical High Mass presided over by the Bishop of Reykjavik, solemn Eucharistic exposition, and parish celebration. |
| July 20 and December 23 each year | Gregorian (National Patronal Feasts) | Summer and Winter Feasts of Saint Thorlak, Patron of Iceland (Thorlaksmessa) | July 20 commemorates the 1198 translation of Saint Thorlak's relics at Skalholt, while December 23 marks his heavenly birthday in 1193 on the eve of Christmas. |
| Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (June) | Gregorian | Outdoor Corpus Christi Eucharistic Procession | Under the bright subarctic summer sky, hundreds of faithful process with the Blessed Sacrament around the hilltop gardens and lava-rock Lourdes Grotto of Landakot. |
| July 23 each year | Gregorian | Anniversary of the Consecration of the Cathedral (1929) and Minor Basilica Title (1999) | Thanksgiving liturgy commemorating Cardinal van Rossum's 1929 consecration of the church and Pope John Paul II's 1999 elevation of the sanctuary to Minor Basilica. |
| Easter Triduum and Christmas Eve (December 24) | Gregorian | Multilingual Easter Vigil and Christmas Midnight Masses | Solemn liturgies celebrated in Icelandic, Latin, English, and Polish, drawing worshippers from across the Greater Reykjavik region. |
A spiritual home for Vietnamese Catholics and international communities in Iceland. In the twenty-first century, the Basilica of Christ the King stands as one of the most culturally diverse houses of worship in the Nordic region. Each week, alongside daily and Sunday Masses in Icelandic and Latin, the cathedral hosts liturgies in English, Polish, Spanish, and Lithuanian. For Vietnamese Catholics living and working in Reykjavik and surrounding municipalities, Landakotskirkja and its outdoor Lourdes Grotto serve as a beloved spiritual home where families gather for Lunar New Year thanksgiving prayers, the Feast of the Assumption on August 15, the Feast of the Vietnamese Martyrs in November, and Christmas Eve Mass.
VILocation And How To Get There
- Address
- Landakot Hill, Tungata 15, Vesturbaer District, 101 Reykjavik, Republic of Iceland
- Getting there
- The Basilica of Christ the King is located at Tungata 15 atop Landakot Hill in the Vesturbaer district of Reykjavik (postal code 101). From Austurvollur Square and the Lutheran Cathedral (Domkirkjan) in the historic city center, it is a straightforward 600-meter walk (8 to 10 minutes) westward along Kirkjustraeti and gently uphill along Tungata. By city bus (Straeto), routes 1, 3, 6, 11, 13, and 14 stop near Radhusid (City Hall) or Hringbraut, a short walk from Landakot Hill.
- Coordinates
- 64.1475, -21.9489
The Basilica of Christ the King (Landakotskirkja) is open daily free of charge from morning until early evening for silent prayer and architectural visitation. Visitors entering the nave are asked to remove hats, maintain strict silence (especially during Eucharistic Adoration, Rosary prayers, and daily Mass), refrain from flash photography, and respect the sanctuary rails. Because Landakot Hill stands exposed to breezes off Faxafloi Bay, the hilltop grounds can be noticeably windier and cooler than the lower streets of downtown Reykjavik; bring a windproof jacket when visiting the nineteenth-century mission house and the outdoor lava-stone Lourdes Grotto.
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?Quick Questions
Why is the Basilica of Christ the King in Reykjavik commonly called Landakotskirkja?
The name Landakotskirkja comes from the historic farmstead of Landakot on the hill west of downtown Reykjavik, which French missionary priests Bernard Bernard and Jean-Baptiste Baudoin purchased in 1859 to re-establish a Catholic mission in Iceland after three centuries of prohibition. Locals have called both the 1897 wooden church and the 1929 concrete cathedral Landakotskirkja (the Church of Landakot).
Who designed Landakotskirkja, and why does its Neo-Gothic tower have a flat top rather than a pointed spire?
The cathedral was designed by Iceland's first State Architect, Gudjon Samuelsson (1887 to 1950), and consecrated in 1929. Samuelsson intentionally gave the reinforced-concrete Neo-Gothic tower a square flat top with continuous vertical ribs to echo Iceland's hexagonal volcanic basalt columns (studlaberg) and to ensure structural resilience against North Atlantic gales.
What geographical record does Landakotskirkja hold within the Catholic Church?
Following Pope John Paul II's pastoral visit in June 1989 and his elevation of the cathedral to the rank of Papal Minor Basilica on July 23, 1999, Landakotskirkja became the northernmost Catholic Minor Basilica in the world at 64.1475 degrees north latitude.
What is the origin of the statue of Christ the King above the high altar?
The larger-than-life statue of Christ the King carved from Lebanon cedarwood was gifted personally by Pope Pius XI from Rome for the cathedral's consecration on July 23, 1929, just four years after he instituted the universal Feast of Christ the King in the encyclical Quas primas (1925).
Which native Icelandic saint is specially venerated at Landakotskirkja?
Saint Thorlak (Thorlakur Thorhallsson, 1133 to 1193), sixth Bishop of Skalholt, who was acclaimed a saint by the Althingi in 1198 and formally proclaimed Patron Saint of Iceland by Pope John Paul II on January 14, 1984. He is honored in the cathedral's stained-glass windows, side altar, parish name, and tower bells.
How was Nobel Prize-winning author Halldor Laxness connected to Landakotskirkja?
Iceland's only Nobel laureate in Literature, Halldor Kiljan Laxness (1902 to 1998), converted to Catholicism in 1923, lived and wrote closely with the Catholic community on Landakot Hill during the 1920s, drew on the neighborhood for his novel The Fish Can Sing (Brekkukotsannall), and had his state funeral Mass celebrated inside Landakotskirkja in 1998.