Fríkirkjan (Free Church), Reykjavik

The Free Church in Reykjavik (Fríkirkjan í Reykjavík) is a separate Lutheran church from Iceland's main church, the Church of Iceland. It's located right in the heart of Iceland's capital city, next to the Tjörnin lake.

This church started in Reykjavik back in the fall of 1899. Initially, around 600 people joined, and this number quickly increased. The Free Church took inspiration from similar churches in Norway and ones set up by Icelanders who moved to North America. They wanted a church that felt more connected to everyday people. Also, Reykjavik was rapidly growing with new neighborhoods and more residents, but the Reykjavik Cathedral couldn't keep up with the needs of the expanding community, especially as more craftsmen and tradespeople settled in.

Not long after this new church group got started, they picked a spot for their church near the lake's eastern side. The church was officially opened on February 22, 1903. Just two years later, they had to make it bigger, following a design by an architect named Rögnvaldur Ólafsson. Then, in 1924, they expanded it again. They added a chancel made of concrete on the east side and made some other changes to the building. All of this was overseen by a master builder, Guðmundur H. Þorláksson.