Black church at Budir in Snæfellsnes

The first church at Búðir

The first known church at Búðir was a small turf church built in 1703. At that time, approximately 120 people were registered in the parish. Burials are recorded at Búðir from 1705, and the church was consecrated in 1712.

The church stood within a lava landscape where it was difficult to create suitable ground for a cemetery. According to the historical account preserved by the Icelandic National Heritage Agency, a hollow in the lava was filled with shell sand carried from the shore to form the churchyard.

By the beginning of the nineteenth century, the turf church had deteriorated badly. It was formally abolished by royal letter in 1816 because of its condition and was demolished soon afterwards.

The church disappeared, but some of its objects survived. They were preserved by local people and later became an important part of the story of the church’s reconstruction.

Steinunn Sveinsdóttir and her dream

The rebuilding of Búðakirkja is inseparable from the story of Steinunn Sveinsdóttir. She had preserved objects belonging to the former church and worked persistently to restore a place of worship at Búðir.

According to a story passed down through generations, Steinunn was walking near the village at Búðir on a bright summer day when she lay down to rest on a grassy patch. While she slept, she dreamed that a man came to her and told her to build a church on that spot.

Permission to construct a new church at Búðir was granted in 1847. Steinunn then led the project and had a new timber church built at her own expense. The construction was completed in 1848, although the church was not consecrated until 1851.

The king later contributed 300 ríkisdalir to the church.

Steinunn died in 1854 at the age of 77. She is buried in the churchyard at Búðir, where a memorial commemorates her and her husband, Guðmundur Guðmundsson, who had worked as a factor.

Without Steinunn’s persistence, the church might never have been rebuilt. Her preservation of objects from the old turf church also helped maintain a physical connection between the two buildings.

The historic door ring

Among the most important surviving objects connected to Búðakirkja is its historic copper-coloured door ring.

An inscription on the front names Bendt Lauridtsen and Marín Jensdóttir and dates the ring to 1702. Bendt was a resident of Búðir when the first church was constructed.

An inscription was later added to the reverse:

“Kirkjan er endurreist ár 1848 án styrks þeirra andlegu feðra.”

The inscription records that the church was rebuilt in 1848 without financial assistance from the ecclesiastical authorities. It expresses the independence and determination behind the reconstruction and provides the most distinctive statement associated with Búðakirkja.

The original door ring remained in use until 1990, when it was damaged. It was repaired, but was considered too fragile to return to regular use. An exact copy was therefore cast and placed on the church door.

The historic original is now preserved by the National Museum of Iceland.

The present church

Búðakirkja is one of Iceland’s older surviving timber churches. Its main structure was built between 1847 and 1850, although the building has undergone several changes and periods of repair.

The church is constructed from timber framing and measures approximately 9.23 metres long and 5.27 metres wide. It consists of a simple rectangular church body with a tower rising above the western end of the pitched roof.

Historical inspections recorded recurring problems with leaks, moisture and decay. Repairs were made at different times, and in 1880 the windows were repaired, the roof was covered with wooden shingles and a new tower was constructed. The church was later covered with corrugated iron in 1909.

A major reconstruction began in 1984. When later wall coverings were removed, original wall panels, windows, benches and exterior components were discovered beneath them. These surviving elements made it possible to reconstruct the church close to its nineteenth-century form.

The work was completed in 1987. During the reconstruction, the church was moved a short distance within the churchyard and placed on a new concrete foundation.

Búðakirkja remains an active local parish church. It is used for religious services, weddings, baptisms, concerts, storytelling and other organised events.

Visiting Búðakirkja

Búðakirkja does not have fixed daily opening hours and is generally not open to casual visitors. Anyone wishing to enter the church, arrange a group visit or photograph the interior should contact the church in advance.

The interior consists of a single room measuring approximately five by nine metres, with seating for up to 50 people. The church contains an organ and two bells in the tower, but it has no heating, running water or toilet facilities.

Visitors are free to view and photograph the exterior, but the church stands within an old and active burial ground. The churchyard should be treated with the same respect as the church itself.

Visitors should remain on established walking areas, avoid stepping across graves or leaning equipment against memorials, and keep the churchyard gates closed. Private ceremonies, services and organised events always take priority over sightseeing and photography.

The simplicity of the church and the openness of its surroundings are central to the experience of Búðakirkja. Visitors should leave both the building and the churchyard exactly as they found them.

• The first church at Búðir was built in 1703 and consecrated in 1712.
• Burials have taken place at Búðir since at least 1705.
• The original turf church was abolished by royal letter in 1816 because of its poor condition.
• Steinunn Sveinsdóttir led and initially financed the construction of the present timber church.
• According to tradition, Steinunn dreamed that a man instructed her to build the church on the site.
• Construction was completed in 1848, and the church was consecrated in 1851.
• The king later contributed 300 ríkisdalir to the church.
• The church measures approximately 9.23 by 5.27 metres.
• The original historic door ring is preserved by the National Museum of Iceland.
• The church was extensively reconstructed between 1984 and 1987.
• Búðakirkja remains an active parish church.
• The church has no fixed daily public opening hours.