Landakotskirkja

The Landakotskirkja, actually Krists konungs Basilica ( Basilica of Christ the King ), is the cathedral of the Catholic Diocese of Reykjavík, which covers the whole of Iceland. Sometimes it is also called Kristskirkja. The honorary title of a papal basilica minor, she received in 1999. It is situated on a hill in the west of the city of Reykjavík.

The first Catholic priest who reached Iceland after the Reformation, the French Bernard Bernard and Jean -Baptiste Baudoin were in the 19th century. They bought the property Landakot and erected there in 1864 a small chapel. A short time later a small wooden church was near, at Túngata built.

After the First World War and the creation of the Apostolic Vicariate of Reykjavik, the desire of the Icelandic Catholics grew by a larger church. The construction of the architect Guðjón Samúelsson was commissioned, who built the Landakotskirkja in neo-Gothic style. The church at that time was the largest in the country. It was consecrated on 23 July 1929.

Striking the flat final tower is without a helmet peak, reminiscent of English and Irish counterparts. As a building material concrete was used in the Landakotskirkja and as with the Hallgrímskirkja basalt formations have been taken as a model for the profiling of the pilasters.

Today, the only Catholic school in Iceland is connected to the Church and is located right next to this.

Views

Statue of Mary (detail side altar )

Virgin Mary statue right back