Praise God In His Sanctuary!

The Hallgrimskirkja Lutheran Church, located in the heart of Iceland's capital city Reykjavik, took 41 years to build and was completed in 1986.

This church was designed by a man who was fascinated by the shapes and forms created when lava cools into basalt rock

It was named after Iceland's most famous poet and minister, Hallgrimur Petursson.

The most notable feature inside of the church is the gargantuan pipe organ. The pipe organ, standing 15 metres and weighing 25 tons, was designed by a German organ builder. There are 102 ranks, 72 stop and 5275 pipes, created to reproduce powerful notes and fill the huge and holy space with the beauty their sounds.

"Praise the Lord!

Praise God in His sanctuary;

Praise Him in His mighty expanse!

Praise Him for His mighty deeds;

Praise according to His excellent greatness!

Praise Him with trumpet sound;

Praise Him with harp and lyre!

Praise Him with timbrel and dancing;

Praise Him with string instruments and pipes!

Praise Him with loud cymbals;

Praise Him with resounding cymbals.

Let everything that breath praise to the Lord!

Praise the Lord!

Psalm 150:1-5 (NLT)

In front of the church stands a statue of Leifur Eiriksson, the first European to discover America. It was apparently recorded 500 years before Christopher Columbus landed on the shores of the New World.