Hallgrímskirkja or “Hallgrimur Church” as it is translated, is the largest church in Reykjavík. It is also the second-largest building in all of Iceland! This 74-meter high church is visible from almost every part of Reykjavík and makes it easy to orient yourself in the capital of the Island.
Hallgrimur Church
This church was designed in 1937 by architect Guðjón Samúelsson, who drew his inspiration from expressionism (a church in Denmark was also built in this style – Nico also captured it in the photo). Its architecture was to resemble the rocks, mountains and glaciers of the Icelandic landscape. Its construction took 45 years – Hallgrímskirkja was only inaugurated in 1986. In the very beginning, this Lutheran church was supposed to be lower, but its superiors wanted to build an edifice that would be more imposing than Landakot’s, the Catholic church in Reykjavík.
Usually, this church in Reykjavík is photographed from the front side. And that’s where most of the photographers went during the photography course in which Nico was participating. But he at this time started looking for an unusual shot that would capture the setting sun over Hallgrímskirkja, where the statue of Leif Eriksson would not be cut out of the frame. How do you like this unusual perspective?
