Skalholt church, Iceland

Remember our visit to Hallgrimskirkja in Reykjavik?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And remember how I said you could visit other churches around Iceland with us?

Well let’s leave Reykjavik, and join the Golden Circle Tour.

Remember too that you can click on any photo to enlarge it.

 

 

 

 

Aside: If you have not yet visited Reykjavik’s largest church (Hallgrimskirkja) you can do so now by clicking here.

 

 

The Golden Circle Tour takes us into the countryside around Reykjavik, giving a glimpse into many aspect of Iceland’s culture and geography. Near the end of the tour (so I would estimate that would be south-east of the city) we visited another interesting church…Skalholt.

Skalholt is a church of modern design but it  has a long history. This area was the ancient seat of Icelandic bishops…first, Catholic bishops and then after the Reformation, Lutheran bishops.

Aside: there is a lot more to the story than that single sentence so, if you are interested, there is a lot of history to research. 

On the same grounds is a replica (or perhaps restored, I’m not sure) of an older church.

The construction of this older church intrigued me/seemed familiar to me…perhaps because it hearkened back to building methods used in Canada during pioneer days.

Our guide escorted us into this older church where he proudly told us stories about the history of this area.

But it was the interior of the newer church that I found most intriguing.

Now, tell me, have you ever seen such a unique altar?

To visit other highlights of our Iceland trip, Click here.

To travel the world, click here.