Kirkjugólf - The Church Floor (What To See - South East)
Just east of Kirkjubæjarklaustur Town, you can see the strange rock formations called Kirkjugólf or the "Church Floor" as translated to English. It is about 80 square meters of hexagonal basalt column stone slabs, eroded and shaped by weather, glaciers, and the sea, but the area was before the end of the last ice age the sea floor. It looks like a man-made tiled floor and many people wrongly believed it was man made because the formation is amazing and looks like someone put the tiles there. However, there has never been a church or any other buildings on the site. Kirkjugólf is now protected as a Natural Monument. Kirkjugólf is situated in a field, just off the main highway and is protected. Kirkjugólfið is located on the left hand side, about 400 meters from the N1 gas station at Kirkjubæjarklaustur when driving on route 203 from Kirkjubæjarklaustur to the waterfall Stjórnarfoss. There is a marked parking by the side of the road and it takes only about 5 minutes to walk from the parking to Kirkjugólf (Church Floor). The hike is easy and the visit is free of charge. There are no restrooms in the area. The Church Floor is well worth stopping for a short walk.
Nearby attractions and Laki Craters
Kirkjubæjarklaustur is a small village and is a trade and a service center for the surrounding farming districts and takes it´s name from a former Convent of Nuns, located there during the Catholic Era, that came to an end in Iceland in the 1550 when the reformation got through in the country. The name means Abbey of Kirkjubær. The nearby waterfall Systrafoss also derives its name from the nuns and means Sisters Falls. The route to the famous Laki Craters or Lakagígar is just a short distance to the west from Kirkjubæjarklaustur. Laki Craters are about 25 kilometers long row of volcanic craters that erupted in 1783 and 1784 in an eruption called Skaftáreldar and had devastating consequences in all of Iceland as well as countries far from Iceland.
Nearby attractions and Laki Craters
Kirkjubæjarklaustur is a small village and is a trade and a service center for the surrounding farming districts and takes it´s name from a former Convent of Nuns, located there during the Catholic Era, that came to an end in Iceland in the 1550 when the reformation got through in the country. The name means Abbey of Kirkjubær. The nearby waterfall Systrafoss also derives its name from the nuns and means Sisters Falls. The route to the famous Laki Craters or Lakagígar is just a short distance to the west from Kirkjubæjarklaustur. Laki Craters are about 25 kilometers long row of volcanic craters that erupted in 1783 and 1784 in an eruption called Skaftáreldar and had devastating consequences in all of Iceland as well as countries far from Iceland.