Reykjavík, Iceland
Hallgrímskirkja took 41 years to become Reykjavík's skyline
A concrete church modelled on basalt lava columns, finished in 1986 after decades of slow construction, and still the easiest way to orient yourself in the city below.
The concrete church built to look like Iceland's own basalt lava
Buy tickets ↗Hallgrímskirkja is the building every visitor to Reykjavík photographs within the first hour, usually without quite knowing what it is. It sits on a small hill above the city centre, 74.5 metres of pale grey concrete rising in stepped, fluted columns to a narrow central tower, visible from almost anywhere in the capital and from the water on a clear approach. It is also, deceptively, a fairly young building by European church standards — construction began in 1945 and the church was not formally completed until 1986, a 41-year build that outlasted the architect who designed it.
The design is the whole story here. Architect Guðjón Samúelsson, who also designed the National Theatre of Iceland and several other landmark buildings of the early 20th century, modelled the church's columned facade on the basalt lava formations found across Iceland — the same hexagonal rock columns visible at sites like Svartifoss waterfall and Reynisfjara beach. The result is a building that reads as distinctly, deliberately Icelandic rather than a copy of a European cathedral form, which was very much the point: Samúelsson spent his career trying to define what a specifically Icelandic national architecture could look like, and Hallgrímskirkja is the clearest surviving statement of that project.
The church takes its name from Hallgrímur Pétursson, a 17th-century Icelandic poet and Lutheran clergyman best known for the Passion Hymns, a cycle of devotional poems still read aloud in Icelandic churches during Holy Week. It belongs to the Church of Iceland, the country's Evangelical Lutheran national church, and functions as both an active parish church and one of the most visited sites in the capital.
The backstoryA 41-year build
Guðjón Samúelsson produced his design for Hallgrímskirkja in 1937, but construction did not begin until 1945, and it proceeded in fits and starts for the next four decades — a product of limited funds, wartime and post-war material shortages, and the sheer scale of pouring that much reinforced concrete by hand in a small country. Samúelsson died in 1950, five years into the build and decades before it was finished, and never saw his design completed.
The tower was finished first and in use well before the rest of the church: the main nave and body of the building were not consecrated until 1986, with some interior work continuing afterward. That slow timeline is worth holding onto when you look at the building, because the austere, unornamented concrete that reads as a deliberate minimalist choice today was also, in part, simply what a small nation could afford to build steadily over two generations.
On the groundWhat the design is actually doing
Stand back from the entrance and the basalt reference becomes obvious: the facade is built from a series of narrow, stepped concrete columns that rise and fan outward from a central spine, echoing the hexagonal lava columns found at Iceland's most dramatic natural sites. It is one of the few major religious buildings in Europe whose entire design vocabulary comes from the host country's own geology rather than an imported architectural tradition.
The interior is similarly restrained: tall, plain white concrete walls, a soaring nave ceiling, and comparatively little decoration, which has the effect of focusing attention on light and proportion rather than ornament. The one unmissable exception is the organ at the rear of the nave — a monumental 15-metre mechanical-action instrument built by the German organ maker Johannes Klais of Bonn and installed in 1992, with over 5,000 pipes arranged in a striking geometric case that mirrors the building's exterior lines. Organ recitals are held periodically and are worth timing a visit around if the schedule allows.
In front of the church stands a statue of Leif Erikson, the Norse explorer credited with reaching North America centuries before Columbus. It predates the church by decades — a gift from the United States in 1930 to mark the 1,000th anniversary of Iceland's Althing parliament — and its position immediately outside Hallgrímskirkja leads many visitors to assume it was built as part of the church. It wasn't; the statue simply ended up sharing the same hilltop site.
How to do it wellGetting more out of a visit
Pay for the tower lift. It is a small fee and a short ride, but the observation deck near the top of the tower gives the single best panoramic view in central Reykjavík — the city's famous coloured corrugated-iron rooftops spread out below, the harbour beyond, and Mount Esja rising across the bay on a clear day. Fifteen minutes there is enough to see everything and get back down.
Entry to the church itself is free, and it is worth a quiet look even if you skip the tower — the plain white nave and the Klais organ are reason enough. If an organ recital happens to coincide with your visit, it is a genuinely good use of half an hour; check the posted schedule or the church's own listings rather than assuming one will be running.
The approach matters almost as much as the building. Skólavörðustígur, the colourful, boutique-lined shopping street that runs from the city centre's main shopping strip directly up to the church's front steps, is one of the most photographed streets in Reykjavík in its own right and a natural way to arrive on foot rather than cutting straight to the hilltop by car or bus.
Practical info
- Hours
- The church is generally open daily, with shorter hours outside peak season; the tower lift typically runs during similar daytime hours but stops earlier, so aim for a visit well before closing.
- Tickets
- Entry to the church nave is free. The tower lift charges a small separate fee, payable at a desk inside; check current pricing locally as it is adjusted periodically.
- Getting there
- An easy walk from the city centre — follow Skólavörðustígur uphill from Laugavegur, the main shopping street, and the church is directly at the top. Several city bus routes also stop nearby for those who prefer not to walk the hill.
- Good to know
- The tower lift is small and visitor numbers can back up at peak times in summer; mornings tend to be quieter than midday. Organ recital schedules vary by season — check the church's own posted listings rather than assuming a performance will be running.
Before you goCommon questions
- Is it worth paying to go up the Hallgrímskirkja tower?
- Yes — it's widely considered the best panoramic viewpoint over central Reykjavík, taking in the city's coloured rooftops, the harbour and Mount Esja across the bay, for a modest fee and about fifteen minutes round trip.
- Why did Hallgrímskirkja take so long to build?
- Construction ran from 1945 to 1986 — 41 years — due to limited funds, post-war material shortages, and the scale of the project for a small country. The tower was completed and in use well before the rest of the church was finished.
- Is the Leif Erikson statue part of the church?
- No. The statue predates Hallgrímskirkja by decades — it was a 1930 gift from the United States marking the 1,000th anniversary of Iceland's parliament — and simply happens to stand on the same hilltop site immediately in front of the later church.
- Why does Hallgrímskirkja look the way it does?
- Architect Guðjón Samúelsson designed the facade's stepped concrete columns to echo Iceland's own basalt lava rock formations, deliberately drawing on the country's geology rather than a European architectural tradition, as part of his broader effort to define a distinctly Icelandic national style.
- Is Hallgrímskirkja free to visit?
- Entry to the church itself is free. Only the tower lift, which gives access to the observation deck, charges a separate small fee.