The church
Black among the grass.
Eric Kilby — CC BY-SA 2.0 · Bernd Thaller — CC BY 2.0 · salomon10 — CC BY 2.0 · Markus Trienke — CC BY-SA 2.0 · salomon10 — CC BY 2.0
The Búðir Black Church is a small wooden church painted black in the tiny hamlet of Búðir, at the south-western tip of the Snæfellsnes peninsula in West Iceland, about 13 km in a straight line south of Grundarfjörður. The church stands alone in a lava field called Búðahraun, covered in moss and grass, ringed by a low wall of volcanic stone with a white wooden gate. Behind it rise the mountains of Snæfellsnes, and on clear days the Snæfellsjökull glacier appears on the horizon. Its deep black colour against the sky and green grass has made it one of the most photographed sights in Iceland. A church first stood here in the 17th century, and the present building was rebuilt in the 19th century. Búðir was once a trading port; a country hotel stands next to the church, and walking trails lead from it across a golden sand beach and the lava field. Viewing the church from outside is free, and the interior is usually closed. The best times are at sunset, or in winter, when the black church stands in the snow.
Black among the grass.
Moss and grass.
Walking trail.
Búðir, Snæfellsnes Peninsula, Iceland
The interior is usually closed.
At sunset or in winter.