History and culture for 1000 years

Skálholt was the capital of Iceland for about 750 years, the center of the church and one of the most densely populated places in the country. The history of the place is long and intertwined with the history of Christianity in Iceland. Iceland's first bishop, Ísleifur Gissurarson, sat here. His son Gissur took over the bishopric after his father, built a cathedral on the spot and gave the land to the church with the words that there should be a church in Skálholt as long as Christianity remained in the country. In the Middle Ages, Skálholtsstaður grew greatly in spiritual and secular terms and soon became one of the most populated places in the country. There was a school and for a time a print shop on the site. There was a lot of farm work in Skálholt and all the housing options accordingly. In 1630, the whole place burned down and many cultural and historical values were lost. All the local buildings, except the cathedral, collapsed in the 1784 earthquake and the bishop's chair was moved to Reykjavík as a result. In 1802, Brynjólfskirkja was demolished and a smaller church was built in its place. In the middle of the 20th century, the restoration of Skálholtstaðar began.

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