The images in this collection are from the north-western Icelandic village of Blönduós and surrounding area. Featured here are two of the village churches, the traditional Nordic style ‘old church’ and the much newer main church, designed by Dr. Maggi Jónsson and said to resemble a volcanic crater.
During another late October trip to Iceland I spent several days driving around the west-northwest of the country. The images here are a selection from the Snæfellsnes Peninsula, including the pretty fishing village of Stykkishólmur and Kirkjufell (‘Church mountain’), often referred to as the most photographed mountain in Iceland.
This metal sculpture is said to represent a viking long ship, as well as a nod to the long relationship with the sea as a means of income. It sits sits on the causeway of Stykkishólmur harbour leading to Sugandisey Island.
Now a hotel this building was once Fransiskus house a catholic monastery and hospital built by nuns in the 1930s.
Stykkishólmur is a town built on the fishing industry and summer tourism, our visit was during October which meant a lot of places were closed due to being out of season.
Stykkishólmskirkja aka the church at Stykkishólmur is a fairly modern feat of architecture built in 1990. Designed by Jón Haraldsson, an Icelandic architect the dramatic swooping bellow tower is said to be modelled on whale vertabrae. This reflects the importance of fishing to the village for several hundred years.
Kirkjufell (Church mountain), is a mountain on the Snæfellsnes peninsula , so called because of it’s distinctly shaped peak akin to a church steeple. Famous for being possibly the most photographed mountain in Iceland and more recently as a location for Game of Thrones. I visited this mountain on a furiously wind swept day in November that left me in awe.
This view is of Breiðafjörður, a large and shallow bay, and the coastline of Stykkishólmur, a pretty fishing port in West Iceland. Taken from the high vantage point next to the church, the bay separates the region of the Westfjords from the south of the country.
Kirkjufellsfoss (Church mountain falls) is located close to Kirkjufell mountain. The waterfall is fairly small by Icelandic standards and you might miss it if looking the other way at Kirkjufell.
This series of images were taken in the Northern region of Iceland and inlcudes the historic site of Glaumbaer with preserved turf houses, the infamous Goðafoss (waterfall of the Gods) and another church - Reykjahlíð close to Myvatn.
The story goes that a lawspeaker named Thorgeir allegedly threw his statues of the Norse Gods into the waterfall after the country decided to adopt Christianity, giving the waterfall (Foss) the name Godafoss.
This traditional looking church sits adjacent to a series of turf houses, in the northern district of Skagafjördur. According to the sagas there has been a farm and a church here since at least the 11th Century. The current church is made of corrugated iron, in the 1920’s after the previous wooden church blew away in a storm.
A farmhouse is said to have stood on the hill at Glaumbær since the Age of the Settlements (900 AD). The present buildings vary in age; the most recent addition having been built in 1876-79, while the oldest – the kitchen, "long pantry," and middle baðstofa – are believed to have been preserved much as they were in the mid-18th century. Between 1879 and 1939, the farmhouse at Glaumbær remained unchanged; it was repaired and declared a conserved site in 1947, the year the last inhabitants moved out.
This photo was taken close to Varmahlið in northern Iceland, as the sun was getting low in the winter sky.
Stephan G. Stephansson was a Western Icelander, poet, and farmer who emigrated to Wisconsin, United States in 1873, at age 19. He wrote only in Icelandic and was considered very influential back in Iceland. This monument is near Varmahlið in northern Iceland.
Just downstream from Goðafoss, is this beautiful green bridge allowing you to cross over. This bridge was built in 1930, the remains of the older bridge from the 1880s can be seen underneath.
Áshús is part of the museum site at Glaumbaer and now houses a tearoom. Originally the house was built in the 1880s as Ás at Hegranes, Skagafjördur and moved to this site in 1991.
Reykjahlíð Church - the original church was built on this site in the 1700s, the story goes that when a volcano errupted in 1729, the lava destroyed farms and buildings, but went around the church. This version of the church was built in 1967.
The variety of churches in this project move between the small traditional style often wooden or metal which then contrast so starkly with the more contemporary churches often said to be influenced by the landscape and nature of Iceland.
This collection of images shows some of my favourite churches I’ve encounted on my travels so far.
These are a hand full of images from my first road trip into the Icelandic wilderness that really sparked off my passion for landscape photography and being in the middle of nowhere.