It Must Have Been A Dream!: Iceland - Svartifoss, The Natural Inspiration For Hallgrímskirkja

This is Black Falls (Svartifoss).

Located in Skaftafell National Park, Svartifoss is fed by ice-cold meltwater from Svinafellsjokull. The narrow stream of water pours over a broad cliff of dark hexagonal basalt columns that hang like organ pipes over the edge of a horseshoe-shaped ampitheatre.

And this is Hallgrímskirkja (church of Hallgrímur), a Lutheran parish church in Reykjavík, Iceland.

At 73 metres (244 ft), it is the largest church in Iceland and the sixth tallest architectural structure in Iceland. It is also one of the tallest buildings in the country and of course the most impressive one. Rising over a height of 74.5m, its peak can be seen from miles beyond.

Hallgrímskirkja in the day...

Hallgrímskirkja at night...

Hallgrímskirkja at night with light painting...

Standing directly in front of the church, and predating it by 15 years, is a fine statue of Leifur Eiriksson (c. 970-1020) - the first European to discover America. Records suggest that Leifur landed on the shores of the new world in the year 1,000 A.D., that's a full 500 years before Christopher Columbus.

Hallgrímskirkja from the side...