Viðeyjarkirkja - Viðey Island, Reykjavik, Iceland - Lutheran Churches on Waymarking.com

Starting in the 1530s, Iceland, originally Catholic and under the Danish crown, formally became Lutheran under the Icelandic Reformation, which culminated in 1550.

Viðey Church was con­secra­ted in 1774. It is one of Iceland´s oldest churches and still has its orig­inal inter­ior fitt­ings. Renovation work on Viðey Church and Viðey house was completed in 1988. The church is open to all visitors.

An object of interest inside the church is the confessional placed on the right side of the altar. This is unique in a Lutheran church in Iceland, the only existant confessional. The Catholic custom of confession persisted in Iceland long after the Reformation in the 16th century and continued to be practised until the 19th century. Before they could take Communion, worshippers had to go to the priest sat in the chair, while the penitent knelt before him and made confession before receiving absolution.

The 18th cent­ury church can be rented for weddings. Viðeyjarstofa (a large old stone restaurant) is an ideal venue for the wedd­ing party, right next-door to the church and its beautiful view over­look­ing Reykjavík city.

A small cemetery is located on the church's grounds.

Sources: (visit link) and (visit link)

Active Church: No School on property: No Date Built: 01/01/1774 Website: [Web Link] Service Times: Not listed

Visit Instructions:
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Date Logged Log User Rating   07/15/2018 seapanda visited it