Grímseyjarkirja Burned To The Ground

According to Morgunblaðið, Grímseyjarkirkja on the island of Grímsey has burned down. The fire started last night, and the wooden church was destroyed so quickly that no valuables could be saved from the flames. Nobody was harmed by the fire.

According to the chief of police in the northeast, Kólbrun Björg Jónsdóttir, the source of the fire is unknown. She said that the police are unaware of anyone being near the building when the fire started, but that the case will be investigated after firefighters have finished extinguishing the blaze.

Henning Henningsson, a firefighter at the scene, has lived on the island since he was five years old and is extremely saddened by the destruction of Grímseyjarkirkja. “The church is a place that has made its mark on the island. You wouldn’t expect this to happen,” he told Vísir. He thinks it’s possible that the fire was caused by electricity. “The electrical panels were quite old, so that comes to mind when you think about the cause of the fire,” Henning said.

Grímseyjarkirkja was built in 1867 and renovated in 1932. It was protected in 1990 by the National Monuments Act.

You can now take walking tours of Reykjavík with Grapevine crewmembers Valur, Pollý and Bjartmar as your guides. Click here for more details.