Hallgrímskirkja
A 74-metre church modeled on Iceland's volcanic basalt columns — 41 years in the making, visible from nearly anywhere in the city.
Coming soon on iOS — be first to walk Reykjavik offline.
State Architect Guðjón Samúelsson, commissioned in 1937, pulled the design straight from Iceland's landscape: the tower's organ-pipe silhouette mirrors the columnar basalt formations found at places like Svartifoss. At 74.5 metres it is the largest church in Iceland and the second tallest building in the country, sitting on the hilltop Skólavörðuholt — which makes it a reliable orientation point the whole time you're in Reykjavík.
What to look for
- The curved side wings flanking the tower, shaped after Iceland's columnar basalt 'organ pipe' rock formations
- The cylindrical sanctuary at the far end of the nave — its shape was described as evoking Viking war helmets
- The candle-lighting station inside: 100 ISK (about $0.78) to light one for a deceased family member
On hilltop Skólavörðuholt near the city centre; construction ran 1945–1986, so the tower was complete long before the rest of the building.
Hallgrímskirkja is one of 17 sights worth the detour in Reykjavik, all bundled offline in Voyage GO — download the Reykjavik pack and it sits on your map with no signal, filling your travel passport the moment you walk past.
More to see in Reykjavik
- Icelandic Phallological MuseumOne exhibit needs a magnifying glass; another once measured 170 cm. Both are real.
- LaugardalsvöllurThe city that dreamed of a sporting venue in 1871 — when Reykjavík held just 2,000 people — finally opened a football stadium here in 1959.
- National Museum of IcelandA carved wooden door where a knight slays a dragon and gains a lion as his companion — and that is the headline object.
- Bessastaðir — Presidential ResidenceSnorri Sturluson farmed here in the 1200s. Turkish slave raiders attacked in 1627. Today the president of Iceland calls it home.
- Imagine Peace TowerA column of light rises 4,000 metres into the Arctic sky from a wishing well on a small island — Yoko Ono's memorial to John Lennon, running on geothermal power.
- HöfðiReagan and Gorbachev met here in 1986 in talks that technically failed yet cracked open the path to the Cold War's end.