Háteigskirkja

This guide to Háteigskirkja in Reykjavik opens in Advent of 1965, when the Bishop of Iceland consecrated a church that was still wrapped in scaffolding, eight years after ground broke on the hill above the city. You'll hear about the parish chairman who turned the first spadeful of earth, the architect Halldór H. Jónsson and his four sharp-pointed towers, and a congregation that kept holding services elsewhere while money ran short. It follows how, decade after decade, small donations kept the project alive rather than letting it die. Step inside if the doors are open, and look for the mosaic cross glowing over the altar.