Thingeyraklausturskirkja church

Þingeyrakirkja is the oldest stone church in Iceland, consecrated in 1877 and built of basalt its builders hauled across the frozen lake by sled. It stands on the Þingeyrar estate between lakes Hóp and Húnavatn, where Benedictine monks founded the country's first monastery in 1133 — the longest-running until the Reformation. In summer the plain grey exterior opens to a deep-blue vaulted ceiling studded with gilded stars, above a medieval alabaster altarpiece.