Seyðisfjarðarkirkja: Powder Blue Church with Rainbows!

Located in eastern Iceland, Seyðisfjarðarkirkja (or Seyðisfjörður Church in English or also known as the Bláakirkja – Blue Church) is a beautiful powder blue church in a beautiful port town that is surrounded by mountains. Sitting in one of the Eastfjords of Iceland, the views of and from this church are simply stunning.

Seyðisfjörður is a small town of about 650 to 700 permanent residents (definitely town size for Iceland, not a village). Despite its size and because of its location, it draws in many artists, hosting a local and vibrant art scene with many galleries. There are also many artisanal craft shops for its size that sell local art and crafts.

Seyðisfjörður can trace its history back to the earliest settlement of Iceland with ruins of a stave church dating back to the 11th century. As you can guess from a town that sits on the water, fishing was always historically a big part of the town’s history. It was also the site of the first modern commercial whaling station in Iceland in 1864. Seyðisfjörður was also the location for the first transatlantic telephone cable connecting Europe with Iceland and then eventually the US through other connections in western Iceland. In recent times with the decline of fishing and whaling, Seyðisfjörður has changed it focus to tourism.

The current Seyðisfjarðarkirkja has stood in the town since 1922, watching over the fishing, whaling and (more recently) tourism activities. IT also oversaw the first Pride Parade in 2014 when locals could not get to the one in Reykjavik. The church has now also connected by a pedestrian rainbow street since 2016, which has become a permanent fixture of the town and is one of Iceland’s three rainbow streets along with Rainbow Road in Reykjavik and the Rainbow Footpath in Akureyri.