Hólar Cathedral
Hóladómkirkja
Hólar Cathedral sits in the farming valley of Hjaltadalur in Skagafjörður, at the heart of the small settlement of Hólar that once ranked as one of Iceland's two episcopal seats. Built from red sandstone quarried on the nearby mountain Hólabyrða, it is the oldest stone building still standing in Iceland and continues in use as an active parish and cathedral church, alongside the agricultural university that now shares the site.
Region
Northwest Iceland
Coordinates
65.7334° N, 19.1138° W
Plan the stop
- Allow
- 45 min
Accessibility
- Limited mobility · Partial
- Flat gravel and grass grounds around the cathedral and university buildings, with a short walk from the small parking area.
- Sensory · Partial
- Generally quiet, aside from free classical and popular-music concerts held inside the cathedral on summer weekends.
- Cognitive · Full
- A single traditional nave with a straightforward layout and a small adjoining memorial tower.
Why it matters
Bishop Jón Ögmundsson founded the diocese of Hólar in 1106, giving northern Iceland an episcopal seat to match Skálholt in the south, and for nearly 700 years Hólar was a major centre of learning as well as religion. The present cathedral, commissioned by Bishop Gísli Magnússon and designed by Danish architect Laurids de Thurah, was built between 1757 and 1763 using red sandstone sledged from Hólabyrða; it is Iceland's oldest surviving stone building. Under Bishop Jón Arason, Hólar was the last stronghold of Catholicism during the Reformation; Arason and his two sons were captured and executed at Skálholt in 1550. A memorial tower to them was added beside the cathedral in 1950. Hólar lost its status as an independent diocese in 1801 and was restored as a suffragan see in 1909; today it also hosts Hólar University, which grew out of an agricultural school founded on the site in 1882.