Hallgrimskirkja Church

Hallgrimskirkja church is Reykjavik's main landmark and its tower can be seen from almost everywhere in the city. It is located at the top of central arts and designs shopping street Skolavordustigur. It is the largest church in Iceland, and the 73-metre high church tower offers a stunning view.

The concrete building was designed by former state architect Gudjon Samuelson and is meant to resemble volcanic basalt rock formations. The church was built over 40 years and opened in 1986. It is named after Reverend and hymn writer Hallgrimur Petursson. In front of it is a statue of Iceland-born Leifur Eiriksson, aka 'Leif the Lucky', the first European to discover America around 1,000 A.D. Sadly he kind of forgot to tell anyone else where it was, so Christopher Columbus got to do it all over again five hundred years later.

The church holds services at 11:00 Sundays. The wonderful acoustics make it a majestic host to classical concerts and musical events. The church organ is the largest of its kind in Iceland. The church tower is open every day from 09:00 - 20:00 and is definitely worth seeing if you like splendid vistas. The price is 400 ISK for adults and 100 ISK for children between 6 and 12 years old.