Búðir Church

Búðakirkja is a small black wooden church in Búðir on the south coast of the Snæfellsnes peninsula in West Iceland. It stands alone in the Búðahraun lava field, whose eastern part has been a nature reserve since 1977, with the glacier volcano Snæfellsjökull rising behind it. Apart from the church, Búðir has only a country hotel.

Sources give different dates for its history. A bishop granted permission for a church in 1701, and a door latch engraved with 1703 survives. The original turf church was discontinued in 1819 by order of the Danish king, and in 1849 a new church was allowed on condition that local residents paid for and maintained it. According to Guide to Iceland the building was moved slightly and rebuilt to its original Danish design in the 1980s; Atlas Obscura gives 1987 as the year of the rebuilding.

The site is open around the clock. A stop of 15 to 30 minutes is enough. Trails lead across the lava field to the coast.