Akureyrarkirkja

What makes it special

Guðjón Samúelsson designed this Lutheran church, and it was consecrated in 1940. It has since become the symbol of Akureyri. The central stained glass window, above the altar, came from England.

The bas-reliefs on the nave balcony are by the sculptor Ásmundur Sveinsson. The baptismal font is a copy of a work by the sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen.

The organ is a large instrument of 3,200 pipes, played at services and concerts. The detail that is easiest to miss hangs overhead, so remember to look up: a model ship suspended from the ceiling. It follows an old Nordic custom, a prayer for the safety of sailors and their families at sea.

Visiting

Three hours each summer weekday, 15:00 to 18:00, are when the church opens to visitors.

Funerals and other services close the church, even inside the visiting hours, and each closure is posted on the church doors. Read the doors as you arrive.

Inside, walk up the aisle to the altar window, then turn round for the balcony at the back. Stop at the font on your way out, and look up for the ship before you leave. Then sit for a few minutes in a pew at the back, where the whole interior is in view at once.

Tips

If a funeral notice is on the door, spend the afternoon in the town centre below and come back the next weekday.

Bring your questions about the window, the reliefs and the ship to the member of staff on duty, who is there during the visiting hours for exactly that. A few minutes of conversation tells you more about each piece than walking past it does.