Akureyri Church

• Address: Eyrarlandsvegur, 600 Akureyri, Iceland;
• Official page: akureyrarkirkja.is;
• Phone: +354 462 7700;
• Discovery: 1941;
• Architect: Goodyoung Samuelsson.

Once in the northern capital of Iceland, the city ​​of Akureyri , you should definitely get acquainted with its architectural sights . One of them is the Lutheran Church of Akureyyrarkirka. She rightly deserved the name of the pearl of the city.

Description of the church

The church of Akureyri rises on a hill in the center of the city. For many, she calls associations with a huge bird that has crouched on its top.

The church is built in the Art Nouveau style and represents one of the most outstanding monuments of modern architecture. The undoubted advantage of its location in this place is that it is surprisingly harmonious with the landscape that surrounds it and is combined with nearby buildings.

Akureyri Church - history of creation

The merit in creating this amazing monument of architecture belongs to the famous Icelandic architect Gudjohn Samuelsson. He is the author of many buildings in the capital of Iceland Reykjavik , which by right can be called real masterpieces. Among them are the University, the cathedral and Hatlgrimskirka . The project of the church Akureyri was established and approved in the beginning of the 20th century. But despite this, the object was built only in 1940.

To decorate the interior, the famous sculptor of the country, Asmundur Sveinsson, was invited, who originally decorated the church choirs with bas-reliefs.

What to see in the church of Akureyri?

Inside the building there are many objects that can rightfully be considered real works of art. The most notable of these are the following:

1. Incredible interest is caused by the font, which is inside the building. It is an exact copy of another font, which at one time was created by the famous sculptor of the 19th century Bartel Thorvaldsen.
2. Stained-glass windows that give the structure a sense of lightness and transparency and create the effect of special light that can not be reproduced by any artificial lighting. In addition, in the church Akureyri stained glass play a special role. With its central stained glass, there is a story. The time of its creation exceeds 400 years, earlier it served as a decoration for St. Michael's Cathedral in Coventry. In connection with the threat of World War II, they dismantled the stained-glass windows of the cathedral, and they were hastily evacuated. After the bombing of the German air force, the cathedral was no longer subject to restoration. Because of this, one of the stained-glass windows was in the church of Akureyri. Other stained-glass windows in the temple were created after these events, their authors were contemporary artists. The entire series is an illustration of events from the life of Jesus Christ.
3. Portraits of Honored Workers of Iceland - Islay, the son of Gitsur Bely, Bishop Gitsur, bishop of Hole, poet Haltgrimur Petersson and many others.
4. Images of the legendary places of the country - Skaulholt, Hoular.
5. Model of an ancient ship under the dome of the church. He acts as a guardian for navigators.
6. A unique interpretation of the crucifixion.
7. The organ, which consists of 3,200 pipes, is one of the most outstanding sights of the church.

It will be a great success if you catch the singing of the glorified church choir, which performs on the first Sunday of every month and on public holidays. As a part of collective there are more than 80 singers of various ages.

How to get to Akureyri Church?

The church is located in the city center, so it's easy to get to it. In this area, a shuttle bus runs to get to HOF Bus Stop.