Hallgrímskirkja

Hallgrímskirkja tickets: which one to buy

Hallgrímskirkja stands on the Skólavörðuholt hill in the centre of Reykjavík, Iceland, at the top of the colourful Skólavörðustígur street, and entry to the church is free, while the tower is ticketed. The tower's viewing platform, reached by a lift, gives the best view of Reykjavík, with its colourful roofs, the harbour, the mountains and the sea. It is the largest church in Iceland and one of the country's most recognisable landmarks.

Walking tours of Reykjavík start or pass here, combining the church with the Rainbow Street, Harpa concert hall, the old harbour and the lake Tjörnin. Many tours to the Golden Circle and the south coast pick up passengers near the church. The church is active, and the tower may close during services and funerals. Organ concerts on the giant Klais organ are held regularly in summer. Tower tickets are sold at the shop inside the church entrance.

Visiting Hallgrímskirkja: what to see

The church is named after Hallgrímur Pétursson, a seventeenth-century Icelandic poet and clergyman, author of the Passion Hymns. It was designed by the state architect Guðjón Samúelsson in 1937, and construction took forty-one years, from 1945 to 1986. Its design was inspired by the basalt columns formed by cooling lava in the Icelandic landscape, which are echoed in the stepped concrete wings rising to a tower seventy-four metres high. Inside, the church is simple and bright, with a tall Gothic-style nave of white concrete and clear glass windows, and a large pipe organ built by Johannes Klais of Bonn in 1992, with more than five thousand pipes.

In front of the church stands a statue of the Norse explorer Leif Erikson, given by the United States in 1930 to mark the thousandth anniversary of the Althing, Iceland's parliament. The organ's pipes rise to fifteen metres and are arranged in a striking design. The church's baptismal font is carved from Icelandic stone. The windows are clear, giving views of the sky and letting in natural light. The tower's viewing platform has windows on all four sides. The church's bells ring for services and play melodies. The entrance's large wooden doors lead into the nave. The church can hold about 1,200 people. Its tower's clock faces can be seen from many parts of the city.

Hallgrímskirkja opening hours and the best time to go

The church and tower are open daily, with shorter hours in winter. Reykjavík has long summer days, with the midnight sun in June, and short winter days, when the northern lights can be seen on clear nights, though city lights reduce visibility. The tower is best visited on clear days. The Reykjavík Pride parade in August and Culture Night in August bring crowds to the centre. Christmas and New Year's Eve, with fireworks over the city, are popular times. Allow about half an hour for the church and tower, and walk down the Rainbow Street. The Harpa concert hall, with its glass facade inspired by basalt columns, is about fifteen minutes' walk down to the harbour.