Reykjavík Cathedral
Every session of Iceland's parliament still opens with a Mass here before MPs walk next door to take their seats.
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Since Alþingi was revived in 1845, this cathedral has been the constitutional starting point of Icelandic democracy — the dean leads parliamentarians in procession from the cathedral to Alþingishúsið, which stands directly adjacent. The current building replaced an 1787 original designed by royal building inspector Andreas Hallander and demolished in 1847 to make way for a larger structure.
What to look for
- The organ: three manuals and 31 independent voices, built in Berlin by Karl Schuke Berliner Orgelbauwerkstatt
- Alþingishúsið — the parliament house — immediately beside the cathedral, the endpoint of the processional tradition
- Austurvöllur square, the open plaza on which both buildings face
Located on Austurvöllur square in the old city centre, directly next to the parliament building.
Reykjavík Cathedral 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
- HallgrímskirkjaA 74-metre church modeled on Iceland's volcanic basalt columns — 41 years in the making, visible from nearly anywhere in the city.
- 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.