Reyniskirkja
Reyniskirkja is a church in South Coast, Iceland — about 186 km from Reykjavik and reached by a drive to the trailhead and a short walk in (footwear and weather check). Shoot it year-round, though winter wind, ice, and short daylight rework the shot list, then use the GPS coordinates, parking notes, and nearby waypoints below to fold this stop into a longer photography route.
Overview
A church in the village of Vik. The Reyniskirkja Church, built in 1929, is located very close to Vik.
As a photography stop, Reyniskirkja is a church in South Coast, roughly 186 km from Reykjavik, reached by a drive to the trailhead and a short walk in (footwear and weather check). Plan the shoot year-round, though winter wind, ice, and short daylight rework the shot list. The downloadable Church map pins exact GPS coordinates, parking, and nearby waypoints so you can fold it into a wider route instead of hunting for the pull-off on arrival.
Reyniskirkja is one waypoint of many — you can load the Iceland church route map before you leave signal.
Notes on this location
Compiled from published sources rather than a visit. Sources are listed below.
The church at Reynir, a short distance from a farm dating back to the early settlement. It is not the church on the hill above Vík: in 1929 it was decided to build that one in the village, and the parsonage moved there from Reynir in 1932.
- Where
- A short distance from the farm Reynir, which dates back to the early settlement
- Not the Vík church
- In 1929 it was decided to build a church in the village of Vík, and the parsonage was moved there from Reynir in 1932 — that building is Víkurkirkja, not this one
- The legend
- A farmer is said to have bargained with a stranger to build the church before autumn, wagering his own son; the stranger, Finnur, vanished when the farmer guessed his name
- Not in the source
- The page cited gives no construction date, materials or architectural detail for Reyniskirkja itself
The practical value of this brief is the disambiguation. Descriptions circulating online attach Víkurkirkja’s 1929 date, red roof, hilltop position above the village and Katla-flood story to Reyniskirkja, and a photographer working from those would drive to the wrong church. This is the one out at the farm, and the published record says very little else about it.
SourcesReynir Church — NAT
Light & aurora at this spot
Calculated from this location’s coordinates (63.419, -19.048). Iceland stays on UTC year-round, so these are local times.
- Summer
- June: sun up 03:02–23:32 (20.5 h). Evening golden hour 21:46–23:32, light coming from the NNW.
- Winter
- December: only 4.6 h of daylight (10:53–15:29), but the sun never climbs above 3.3° — the entire day is golden hour. Sunrise bears SSE, sunset SSW.
- Aurora
- Aurora-grade darkness Sep–Mar, peaking at 12.8 h a night in December. Not possible Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug — the sky never gets dark enough.
Bar height is daylight hours. Months marked • have enough astronomical darkness for aurora; the rest do not.
Questions & answers
Reyniskirkja is a church in South Coast, Iceland, approximately 186 km from Reykjavik. Exact GPS coordinates are included in the downloadable Church map.
The recommended season for Reyniskirkja is All. For light, plan around blue hour and the first hour after sunrise; Iceland's long shoulder-season twilight extends usable conditions on either side.
Drive/Hike access. Bring weather-appropriate footwear and check conditions before setting out. The downloadable GPS map puts the waypoint on your phone; your own app routes you to it from wherever you are.
Yes — Reyniskirkja can be visited year-round, though winter conditions may require a 4x4 or storm-tolerant plans.