Hólar – A Former Centre of Power in Hjaltadalur

A Bishopric in a Sheltered Valley

Hólar stands near the head of Hjaltadalur, a side valley extending inland from Skagafjörður. The surrounding mountains provide shelter, while the valley contains productive land suited to grazing and agriculture.

In medieval Iceland, these were not minor advantages. A religious institution required farms, livestock, labour and dependable access to food as much as it required a church. Hólar was not established in a large settlement because no Icelandic towns existed in the modern sense. Power rested in land, farming, family alliances and control over institutions.

The bishopric was established in 1106, more than fifty years after the first Icelandic bishopric had been founded at Skálholt. Hólar became the seat of the bishops of northern Iceland and remained so, under changing religious and political conditions, until the bishopric was abolished at the beginning of the nineteenth century.

Its first bishop, Jón Ögmundsson, founded a cathedral school. The school trained clergy and connected Hólar to the intellectual traditions of the European Church through Latin, theology, reading and writing.

The bishops also controlled extensive property and depended upon farms, tenants and political alliances. Their authority was spiritual, but it was supported by land and wealth. Hólar therefore became an economic and political centre whose influence extended far beyond Hjaltadalur.

Several cathedrals stood here before the present church. They were replaced after fires, storms, deterioration and changing needs. The building visible today is one surviving layer at a site that had already served as a religious centre for more than six centuries before its construction.

The surrounding landscape remains essential to understanding that history. The cathedral and old buildings did not stand apart from ordinary work. They belonged to a functioning estate supported by agriculture—a relationship that is still visible in the fields and horses around Hólar today.

Guðmundur the Good and Medieval Authority

Among the most influential medieval bishops of Hólar was Guðmundur Arason, usually known as Guðmundur the Good.

He became bishop in 1203 during the Sturlung Age, when conflict among Iceland’s most powerful families was intensifying. His understanding of episcopal authority brought him into repeated confrontation with secular chieftains.

At the centre of the dispute was a fundamental question: should the Church and its property remain under the influence of local chieftains, or should ecclesiastical authority stand independently of them?

Guðmundur strongly defended the rights and independence of the Church. His opponents saw his position as a challenge to the existing distribution of power. He was also known for supporting poor and marginalised people, attracting followers who travelled with him and depended upon his protection. This strengthened his reputation for holiness while placing further strain on the bishopric’s resources and political relationships.

The conflicts became violent. Guðmundur was driven from Hólar more than once and spent long periods away from his episcopal seat. His career demonstrates that medieval Hólar was not a remote place devoted only to prayer and learning. It stood at the centre of struggles over land, law, wealth and authority.

After his death in 1237, Guðmundur became an important figure in Icelandic religious tradition. He was never formally canonised by the medieval Church, but he was venerated in Iceland and remembered as one of the country’s holy bishops.

Jón Arason and the End of Catholic Power

The most dramatic figure in the history of Hólar was Jón Arason, the last Catholic bishop of northern Iceland.

He became bishop in 1524 and combined religious office with political ambition, family power and control over extensive property. Like many powerful churchmen of his period, he was deeply involved in secular politics.

The Reformation transformed his conflict with the Danish Crown. King Christian III imposed Lutheranism within his kingdoms, but the change did not happen peacefully or immediately in Iceland. The southern bishopric at Skálholt accepted the Reformation first. Jón resisted it and attempted to restore Catholic authority.

His opposition was religious, political and personal. The Reformation reduced the independence and property of the Church while strengthening royal control. It also threatened the network of power Jón and his family had built.

In 1550, Jón was captured with two of his sons, Ari and Björn. All three were taken to Skálholt and beheaded.

Their execution ended organised Catholic resistance in Iceland and destroyed the political power Jón had exercised from Hólar. It marked a decisive transfer of authority from the old Church to the Danish Crown and the Lutheran religious order.

Catholic worship did not continue at Hólar, but the institution survived. The bishopric became Lutheran, and the printing press established under Jón would later serve the religion that defeated him.

Iceland’s First Printing Press and the Guðbrandsbiblía

Jón Arason understood the importance of the printed word. Iceland’s first printing press was established at Hólar under his authority around 1530. Only fragments survive from the earliest works associated with the press, but its arrival transformed Icelandic cultural history.

The printing tradition reached its greatest importance under Bishop Guðbrandur Þorláksson, who served at Hólar from 1571 until his death in 1627.

His most important achievement was the Guðbrandsbiblía, the first complete Bible printed in Icelandic. It was published at Hólar in 1584. Producing approximately 500 copies took around two years—an enormous undertaking in a sparsely populated country with limited materials and technical resources.

The Bible was central to Lutheran religious reform, but its influence extended beyond the Church. A major printed work distributed throughout Iceland helped preserve and standardise the written language at a time when the country was politically subject to Denmark.

Its language entered homes, churches and public life. The publication demonstrated that Icelandic could continue to serve as the language of theology, literature and formal written culture.

Guðbrandur did not introduce printing to Hólar; he developed the tradition established under Jón Arason and used it systematically to spread Lutheran teaching. He oversaw religious texts, hymnbooks and educational works and was also associated with an influential early map of Iceland.

Books produced beneath Hólabyrða travelled to churches and households throughout the country. A tiny episcopal settlement in a northern valley had become one of the principal centres of Icelandic written culture.

The Cathedral and the Layered Historic Centre

The present Hólar Cathedral, Hóladómkirkja, was consecrated in 1763. It is Iceland’s oldest surviving stone church and stands on ground where a succession of earlier cathedrals had already risen and disappeared.

The church was built from red stone quarried from Hólabyrða. The material is traditionally described as sandstone, but geologically it is red volcanic tuff. Its colour gives the cathedral an appearance unlike most Icelandic churches, changing from muted earth tones under overcast skies to a distinct red against snow, green fields or grey weather.

Its exterior is simple and heavy, with thick masonry walls and restrained decoration. Inside, objects from different periods connect the eighteenth-century building to the much longer history of worship at Hólar. Some furnishings and artworks predate the present cathedral and survived from earlier churches. The interior is therefore not a reconstruction of a single historical moment, but a place where several centuries remain together.

The cathedral remains a consecrated church rather than merely a museum. Visitors can generally enter during the main season, often without a guide, but access may vary and should be confirmed when seeing the interior is a principal reason for travelling.

The detached tower beside the church is much younger. It was constructed as a memorial marking the four-hundredth anniversary of Jón Arason’s execution in 1550 and should not be mistaken for part of the original cathedral.

Nearby, Nýibær represents a very different life at Hólar. The nineteenth-century turf farmhouse shows the domestic and agricultural world of the workers and families who sustained the estate. Visitors should principally expect to view it from outside unless access is specifically indicated.

Auðunarstofa appears to belong to a much earlier age, but the building visible today is a modern reconstruction of the fourteenth-century residence of Bishop Auðunn rauði Þorbergsson. It helps visitors understand the scale of a medieval bishop’s residence without pretending to be a surviving medieval structure.

Together, Auðunarstofa, the cathedral and Nýibær place a reconstructed medieval timber residence, an eighteenth-century stone church and a nineteenth-century turf farmhouse within a few minutes’ walk. Archaeological remains beneath and around them preserve still earlier layers of churches, burials, homes and working buildings.

The School Returns

The educational history of Hólar was not uninterrupted.

The bishopric was abolished in 1801, and the school was transferred away. After nearly seven centuries as an ecclesiastical and educational centre, Hólar lost the functions that had given it national importance.

Education returned in 1882 with the establishment of an agricultural school. This was not simply a revival of the medieval cathedral school. Its purpose belonged to a different Iceland, using organised teaching and research to improve farming, animal husbandry and rural livelihoods.

The same productive landscape that had supported bishops, clergy and students now became part of practical agricultural education. Students carried knowledge from Hólar into rural communities across the country.

The institution gradually developed into Hólar University. Its principal areas today include equine studies, aquaculture and fish biology, and rural tourism.

These subjects may appear far removed from medieval theology, but they continue one defining aspect of the place: knowledge is gathered at Hólar and carried elsewhere.

The university is a working institution, although an ordinary visitor exploring the cathedral and historical buildings may barely notice it. Hólar does not feel like a conventional campus, and the modern institution does not overwhelm the old centre. That quietness can make its present role easy to underestimate.

Hólar is therefore not preserved only because it was once important. It continues to function.

Horses at Hólar

Horses are one of the most visible connections between the university, agriculture and the surrounding landscape.

Equine studies at Hólar involve riding, training, teaching, breeding and research into the Icelandic horse. The animals are not present as historical decoration or merely for visitors. Fields, tracks, stables and equine facilities belong to the working institution, and horses may be seen grazing or being trained depending on the season and current activity.

The Icelandic Horse History Centre occupies the old stable built in 1931. Its exhibitions trace the changing place of the horse in Icelandic society.

For centuries, horses were essential to travel and transport across a country without roads. They carried people, goods and mail, supported farm work and made journeys across rivers, mountain routes and difficult terrain possible.

Mechanisation reduced many of those practical roles during the twentieth century, but the Icelandic horse retained enormous cultural importance. Breeding, competition and riding traditions became increasingly prominent, along with the qualities that distinguish the breed.

Hólar hosted Landsmót hestamanna, Iceland’s national horse gathering, in 2026. Landsmót is normally held every two years rather than annually. The event was temporary, but its presence at Hólar reflected the institution’s continuing importance within Icelandic horsemanship.

The horses are a permanent part of the place. They keep the history of Hólar connected to the land and prevent it from ending at the cathedral door.

Exploring Hólar

Hólar can be explored in approximately an hour, although visitors with a particular interest in church history, architecture or horses may remain longer.

The historical centre is compact. Begin with the cathedral, whose stonework, interior and surviving objects provide the clearest connection to the episcopal past. The detached memorial tower, Auðunarstofa and Nýibær then reveal how different generations built, rebuilt and interpreted the site.

The university buildings, agricultural land and horses demonstrate that Hólar still has a purpose beyond historical memory. The Icelandic Horse History Centre adds another layer, but exhibition and cathedral access should be checked when either is central to the visit.

Hólar lies in Hjaltadalur, inland from the eastern side of Skagafjörður. The approach passes through agricultural country and enters the valley between farmland and mountain slopes before reaching the historical centre beneath Hólabyrða.

The site is accessible by ordinary car in normal conditions. Winter weather can affect roads and visibility, so current conditions should be checked outside summer. Parking is available near the main historic area, and the principal buildings are close enough to explore on foot.

The site combines a consecrated church, protected buildings, archaeological remains, a working university and active agricultural facilities. Visitors should remain quiet inside the cathedral, respect any restrictions on photography and avoid touching historical objects.

Nýibær should be approached by established paths. Turf walls and roofs are vulnerable to erosion and must not be walked upon. Fields, stables and horse facilities are not automatically open to visitors; gates should be left as found, and horses should not be approached or fed without permission.

There is no need to make Hólar look larger or more monumental than it is. Its importance lies precisely in the concentration of so much Icelandic history within such a modest place.

• • The northern bishopric was established at Hólar in 1106, with Jón Ögmundsson as its first bishop.
  • Guðmundur Arason the Good became bishop in 1203 and repeatedly clashed with secular chieftains over the independence of the Church.
  • Iceland’s first printing press operated at Hólar under Jón Arason around 1530.
  • Jón Arason and his sons Ari and Björn were beheaded at Skálholt in 1550.
  • The Guðbrandsbiblía, the first complete Bible printed in Icelandic, was published at Hólar in 1584 after approximately two years of work.
  • Around 500 copies of the Guðbrandsbiblía were printed—an exceptional undertaking in sixteenth-century Iceland.
  • Hóladómkirkja was consecrated in 1763 and is Iceland’s oldest surviving stone church.
  • The cathedral’s locally quarried red material is traditionally called sandstone but is geologically volcanic tuff from Hólabyrða.
  • The detached cathedral tower is a twentieth-century memorial to Jón Arason, not part of the original 1763 church.
  • Nýibær is a nineteenth-century turf farmhouse, while Auðunarstofa is a modern reconstruction of a medieval bishop’s residence.
  • Education returned to Hólar in 1882 with the establishment of an agricultural school.
  • The old stable built in 1931 now houses the Icelandic Horse History Centre.
  • Hólar University specialises in equine studies, aquaculture and fish biology, and rural tourism.
  • Hólar hosted Landsmót hestamanna, Iceland’s national horse gathering, in 2026.