Although the beautiful stave church on the island of Heimaey in the Westman Islands is not as old as you might think, its roots go deep in history. It was built and consecrated in the year 2000, and presented to the Icelandic nation by Norway in commemoration of the thousand-year anniversary of Iceland’s conversion to Christianity, and contains a replica of the Norwegian medieval altarpiece of Saint Olav.
The architecture and the building methods are from the period just after the close of the Viking Age in the 1100 and 1200’s, the church being a replica of the Norwegian Haltdalen stave church, which was built around 1170.
The location is called Skansinn and is a part of the harbor of the town of Vestmannaeyjabær on Heimaey, the largest and only inhabited island of the Vestmannaeyjar archipelago.
It’s located on land that was formed in the huge 1973 eruption, as were the black walls of lava right behind it.
The 15 islands and about 30 skerries of the Westman archipelago lie off the south coast of Iceland, along a linear volcanic system that consists of 70–80 volcanoes both above and below the sea. The islands have been formed by eruptions over the past 10,000 to 12,000 years, one of which was the 1973 eruption of the volcano Eldfell, right in the middle of the town of Vestmannaeyjabær, another being the infamous eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in 2010.
The ferry ride to Heimaey island is only 30 minutes from Landeyjarhöfn harbor. It’s a visit you should not miss.
Although the beautiful stave church on the island of Heimaey in the Westman Islands is not as old as you might think, its roots go deep in history. It was built and consecrated in the year 2000, and presented to the Icelandic nation by Norway in commemoration of the thousand-year anniversary of Iceland’s conversion to Christianity, and contains a replica of the Norwegian medieval altarpiece of Saint Olav.
The architecture and the building methods are from the period just after the close of the Viking Age in the 1100 and 1200’s, the church being a replica of the Norwegian Haltdalen stave church, which was built around 1170.
The location is called Skansinn and is a part of the harbor of the town of Vestmannaeyjabær on Heimaey, the largest and only inhabited island of the Vestmannaeyjar archipelago.
It’s located on land that was formed in the huge 1973 eruption, as were the black walls of lava right behind it.
The 15 islands and about 30 skerries of the Westman archipelago lie off the south coast of Iceland, along a linear volcanic system that consists of 70–80 volcanoes both above and below the sea. The islands have been formed by eruptions over the past 10,000 to 12,000 years, one of which was the 1973 eruption of the volcano Eldfell, right in the middle of the town of Vestmannaeyjabær, another being the infamous eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in 2010.
The ferry ride to Heimaey island is only 30 minutes from Landeyjarhöfn harbor. It’s a visit you should not miss.
