Hlíðarendakirkja

The country church at Hlíðarendi in Fljótshlíð in S-Iceland, looking southwards over the riverbed plain of Markarfljót river. The church was built in 1897 and seats 180 people. Hlíðarendi is one of the best known Saga-age farmsteads, home of Gunnar, one of the two main tragic heroes of the Saga of Njál, Iceland's premier literary gem, written in the 13th Century about events in the 10th and 11th Century. In one of the best known passages Gunnar is preparing to leave the country after being sentenced to exile but takes one last glance at his home. He proclaims that he has never before seen so clearly the beauty of the land, and that he will not leave. His enemies later visit his farm to kill him (as is their right according to the law, Gunnar having broken his sentence). He defends himself in his home until his bowstring is cut. He asks his proud wife Hallgerður for strands of her famously long hair to restring his bow; she refuses in revenge for a slap he once gave her, and Gunnar is subsequently killed. Hlíðarendi is also the birthplace of St. Þorlákur; his sainthood was officially proclaimed in 1988, almost 800 years after his death, even if Icelanders have not one but two days dedicated to his memory.

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