Hallgrimskirkja Cathedral # 2
by Allen Beatty
Title
Hallgrimskirkja Cathedral # 2
Artist
Allen Beatty
Medium
Photograph - Photographs
Description
Hallgrímskirkja Cathedral is Reykjavík's main landmark and its tower can be seen from almost everywhere in the city.
It was designed by the late Guðjón Samuel in 1937, who was often inspired in his endeavours by the fascinating shapes and forms created when lava cools into basalt rock.
Construction of the church began in 1945 and ended in 1986, with the tower completed long before the rest of the building. The crypt beneath the choir was consecrated in 1948, the steeple and wings completed in 1974 and the nave consecrated in 1986.
The church features, most notably, a gargantuan pipe organ designed and constructed by the German organ builder Johannes Klais of Bonn. Standing tall at an impressive 15m and weighing a remarkable 25 tons, this mechanical action organ is driven by four manuals and a pedal, 102 ranks, 72 stops and 5275 pipes, all designed to reproduce powerful notes capable of filling the huge and holy space with a range of tones - from the dulcet to the dramatic. Its construction was completed in December 1992 and has since been utilized in a variety of recordings, including some by Christopher Herrick.
Standing directly in front of the church, and predating it by 15 years, is a fine statue of Leifur Eiriksson – 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 500 years before Christopher Columbus. The statue, which was designed by Alexander Stirling Calder was a gift from the United States in honour of the 1930 Alþingi Millennial Festival, commemorating the 1,000th anniversary of the establishment of Iceland's parliament at Þingvellir in 930 AD.
This image is Featured in the Following FAA Groups:
No Place Like Home
Only Doors and Windows
Arts Fantastic World
Pictures for Presents
All Art Welcome,
Images That Excite You,
Mannequin Statue Doll Sculpture Gallery,
USA Photographers Only,
Art Forever With You,
Contemporary,
Travel Art,
The Niche,
Your Very Best Photography,
The World We See,
AAA Images,
10 Plus,
Anything Architecture Buildings and Bridges,
100 Favorite,
Uploaded
June 21st, 2017
Statistics
Viewed 797 Times - Last Visitor from New York, NY on 04/25/2024 at 3:59 AM
Embed
Share
Sales Sheet