A small, white wooden church with a red door and steeple, situated on grassy land near the ocean with blue water and sky in the background.

Hellnar Church


Captured on a windy afternoon on the Snæfellsnes Peninsula, Iceland.

Subject: Hellnar Church (Hellnakirkja)
Location: Hellnar, Snæfellsnes Peninsula, Iceland
Season: Spring

The tiny church at Hellnar is one of the most photographed structures on the Snæfellsnes Peninsula. Built in the early 20th century, it sits alone on the clifftop above the North Atlantic with almost nothing between it and the open ocean. The white-and-red color scheme is typical of Iceland's rural churches, many of which were built to serve farming and fishing communities so small they no longer exist. On this day the sea behind it was rough, the whitecaps visible for miles.