This is the church "Hallgrímskirkja", which has a very distinctive spire.  The clock is 6 stories above the sanctuary, and the bell room is two stories above that.

The state religion in Iceland is Lutheran, and this church was very conservatively decorated.

It has a commanding view of the city, and it can be seen from just about anywhere you go.

Our hotel was just down the hill from the church.

 

This is 4 photographs stitched together - Its difficult to get to a spot where you can take a picture of the whole church at once.

The church was completed in the 1970's, after a 40-year construction period.

The statue, as indicated earlier, is of Leifur Erikson, also known as Leif the Lucky, who discovered Newfoundland and ventured into what is now New England, more than 500 years before Christopher Columbus sailed the ocean blue

The statue was donated by the USA in 1938, which was the 500'th anniversary of Leifur's trek to the New World.

The church was made to resemble an outcropping of Basalt columns, a common feature on the volcanically rich island.

 

The view from the bell room was awesome.

The bells were pretty loud when they went off, though!

 

Looking down on the square, you really get a feel for how high the steeple really is.

Its odd, to me, anyway, that the church and its grounds were build long after the monument that dominates its courtyard.

You could see pretty much the whole city... the church is one of the higher points in the old capital.

The roofs of the buildings are primarily made of Aluminum.  The reasoning, a taxi driver told me, is that its sturdy, light, and costs less than using asphalt panels or ceramic tiles.  It sheds snow easier, too.

The pipe organ has more than 9,000 individual pipes!  It was HUGE!  We were going to buy a CD of a concert played on the organ, but they wanted $40 for it, a bit steep for 6 songs...

 

The interior space was incredible!  The acoustics were awesome -- I'd bet the singing in this church is not easily forgotten!

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