One more “fun” or “cultural” sight is the indoor Kolaportid Flea Market held on weekends. Located in a huge industrial building in the Old Harbor area, it is a primary for locals market; lots of secondhand clothes, old toys, DVDs, dried fish and fermented shark (sellers are happy to offer a taste of fermented shark). An underwhelming sight compared to other flea markets visited.
Hallgrímskirkja Church can be seen all over Reykjavik. Its iconic tower stands 74.5 meters/242 feet high at the peak and offers panoramic views across the whole of the city. Entry to the tower is 600 ISK and obviously, don’t bother during fog or rain. Designer Guojon Samuel was inspired by shapes and forms of basalt rock and it was built in 1937. The church is known for its gigantic pipe organ driven by four manuals and a pedal, 102 ranks, 72 stops and 5,275 pipes, all designed to fill the huge and holy space with a range of tones. The church was closed because an organ concert was taking place in Hallgrimskirkja when Marine Steve and I first visited but was open when we revisited with Tauck Tours.
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weekend flea market, Reykjavik
sculpture memorializing women carrying water, Reykjavik
inside Hallgrimskirkja Church, Reykjavik
In front of the church is a statue of Leifur Eiriksson (970-1020), the first European to discover America and usually called “Leif Erickson.” It is said that Eiriksson landed on the shores of the new world in 1000 AD, 500 years before Christopher Columbus. The statue was a gift from the United States in honor of the 1930 Althingi Millennial Festival, commemorating the 1,000th anniversary of the establishment of Iceland’s Parliament at Thingvellir in 930 AD. The Golden Circle Tour includes Thingvellir National Park where the first Parliament was held.
organ inside Hallgrimskirja Church, Reykjavik
Hallgrimskirja Church organ has over 5,000 pipes, Reykjavik
landmark Hallgrimskirja Church, Reykjavik
The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Iceland, also called the National Church, is the officially established Christian Church in Iceland. Celtic hermits were the first to set foot on Icelandic soil, seeking refuge to worship Christ. The majority of later Norse settlers were pagan and worshipped the old Norse gods. When Iceland was constituted as a republic in 930, it was based on the pagan religion. A historical work Íslendingabók, tells how the country went from pagans to Christian and this is the story tourists will hear when visiting Thingvellir National Park and at Godafoss Waterfall (more about Godafoss later in this series).
“The nation was deeply divided between adherents of different religions that would not tolerate each other. At the legislative assembly, the Althingi at Thingvellir in the year 1000, the country was on the brink of civil war. The leaders of the two groups realized the danger and found a solution. They chose a person that everybody respected for his wisdom, the heathen priest and chieftain, Thorgeir of Ljosavatn, to decide which way the people should go. Thorgeir retired to his dwelling and lay there all day meditating. The next day he called the assembly together and made his decision known. “If we put asunder the law, we will put asunder the peace,” he said. “Let it be the foundation of our law that everyone in this land shall be Christian and believe in one God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.” He also decreed that pagan sacrifice, the exposure of infants, and the eating of horseflesh would be tolerated for the time being, if practiced in private. The people agreed and many were subsequently baptized.”
Lief Erickson outside Hallgrimskirja Church, Reykjavik