Reykjavik center through time

Reykjavik 1911–2025 32 photos of this spot

32 photographs taken at the same spot in Reykjavik, spanning 1911–2025 — 7 of them from before 1980. Line them up and watch the place change.

Pósthússtræti street and Austurvöllur square, Reykjavík, ca. 1910–1912. Source: Magnús Ólafsson / Reykjavík Museum of Photography, via Wikimedia Commons (public domain).

Pósthússtræti and Austurvöllur, Reykjavík 1911 Pósthússtræti street and Austurvöllur square, Reykjavík, ca. 1910–1912. Source: Magnús Ólafsson / Reykjavík Museum of Photography, via Wikimedia Commons (public domain).

Austurvollur 1919 Womens suffrage day 1919 A gathering at Austurvöllur square in Reykjavik, Iceland, during a Women's Suffrage Day observance in 1919.

Reykjavik in 1949 1949 The east side of Iceland's parliament building, Althingi, in Reykjavik on 31 March 1949, showing windows broken the previous day. Rioting had erupted in Austurvollur square after parliament voted for Iceland to join NATO as a founding member.

Reykjavik in 1949 1949 Broken windows on the east facade of the Althingi in Reykjavik, photographed 31 March 1949, the morning after clashes in Austurvollur square over Iceland's vote to join NATO.

Reykjavik in 1949 1949 The Althingi, Iceland's parliament, viewed from Austurvollur in Reykjavik on 31 March 1949, the day after riots broke out over the resolution admitting Iceland as a founding NATO member.

Reykjavik in 1949 1949 Another view of the Althingi building from Austurvollur square, Reykjavik, taken 31 March 1949 following the previous day's unrest over Iceland's NATO membership vote.

Reykjavik in 1949 1949 The headquarters of Iceland's Independence Party in Austurvollur, Reykjavik, photographed 31 March 1949, the day after rioting connected to parliament's vote to join NATO.

Church on Austurvollur Square 2005 A church bordering Austurvöllur square in central Reykjavik, Iceland, photographed in 2005. The square, one of the city's oldest public spaces, is also flanked by Iceland's parliament building, the Althing.

Reykjavík05 2006 A 2006 view of Reykjavik, Iceland's capital and the world's northernmost capital city, set along the shores of Faxafloi bay. Colorful low-rise rooftops and a compact street grid are typical of the city's older residential quarters.

Althingisgardur 2007 Austurvöllur-adjacent Alþingisgarðurinn, the small public park beside Iceland's parliament building in central Reykjavik. The garden sits in the historic heart of the Icelandic capital near Austurvöllur square.

Domkirkja03 2009 Dómkirkjan, Reykjavik's cathedral, sits in the heart of the old town near Austurvöllur square. The current building dates to the late 18th century and has long served as the seat of Iceland's Lutheran bishop; this view was captured in 2009.

Domkirkjan07 2009 A 2009 view of Dómkirkjan, Reykjavik's small cathedral church adjoining the Althingi parliament building in the city centre. The cathedral has occupied the site since the late 18th century.

Reykjavik 2010 A view of downtown Reykjavik, Iceland, whose compact scale and colorful rooftops reflect the city's rapid but modest growth through the 20th century as Iceland's population concentrated there.

Dómkirkjan 2012 Dómkirkjan, the Cathedral of Reykjavik, Iceland, photographed in 2012. Completed in 1796, it stands next to the Icelandic parliament building, Alþingishúsið, in the capital's old town.

Downtown, 101 Reykjavík, Iceland 2014 Taken in 2014, this image depicts downtown Reykjavik, Iceland's capital and by far its largest city, home to roughly a third of the country's entire population.

Dómkirkjan í Reykjavík 2017 Reykjavik's Lutheran cathedral, Domkirkjan, is a small church on Austurvollur square in the Icelandic capital, consecrated in the late eighteenth century and serving as the seat of the Bishop of Iceland. This photograph was taken in 2017.

Reykjavík - Kirkjustræti 2017 Another building along Kirkjustraeti in central Reykjavik, Iceland, captured in 2017. This short street in the old town runs close to the Icelandic parliament building and preserves the small-scale timber construction typical of the capital's historic core.

Reykjavík - Kirkjutorg 6 A 2017 A building at Kirkjutorg in central Reykjavik, Iceland, photographed in 2017. The small square lies at the heart of the old town, surrounded by the low timber and corrugated-iron houses characteristic of the Icelandic capital's historic streets.

Reykjavik 2019 A view along the shore of Tjornin pond in central Reykjavik, near the Icelandic capital's City Hall, photographed in 2019 during a walk through the downtown area.

Reykjavik 2019 A downtown scene in Reykjavik near Tjornin pond, photographed during a 2019 visit to the Icelandic capital, where the small lake draws both locals and visitors.

Reykjavik 2019 A scene from downtown Reykjavik near Tjornin pond, photographed in 2019 as part of a series capturing the Icelandic capital's central streets.

Reykjavik 2019 Downtown Reykjavik near the Tjornin pond is pictured once more in this 2019 photograph, showing another corner of the Icelandic capital's center.

Reykjavik 2019 Central Reykjavik, in the vicinity of Tjornin pond and City Hall, is shown in this 2019 photograph of the Icelandic capital's downtown streets.

Alþingishúsið 2023 Alþingishúsið, completed in 1881, houses Iceland's parliament, the Althingi, in central Reykjavík; this image dates to 2023.

Dómkirkjan í Reykjavík 2023 Reykjavik's Dómkirkjan, the Lutheran cathedral standing near the Icelandic parliament building in the capital's old town, photographed in 2023.

Austurvöllur panoramic 2023 Austurvöllur is a central square in Reykjavík, Iceland, flanked by the Alþingi parliament building and Reykjavík Cathedral, and has long served as a public gathering place; this panoramic view is from 2023.

Reykjavik center 2025 Reykjavík Cathedral (Dómkirkjan), inscribed with the date 1847 on its tower, stands beside Austurvöllur square in the heart of the Icelandic capital, near the Alþingi parliament building and Hótel Borg.

Reykjavik center1 2025 Reykjavík Cathedral's tower and pitched metal roof rise above the surrounding square, with a memorial bust set beside its side entrance and the timber houses of central Reykjavík visible behind it.

Templarasund 2025 Templarasund, a short street in downtown Reykjavík, runs past a stone church wall toward a row of pastel-colored townhouses near the city center, typical of the mixed timber and masonry architecture of the district.

Kirkjutorg 4 2025 Corrugated-iron-clad buildings line Kirkjutorg square in central Reykjavík, including the Kvosin Hotel occupying the building once known as Kirkjuhvoll, part of a streetscape of similarly clad Nordic townhouses.

Dómkirkjan í Reykjavík 2025 Reykjavik Cathedral, known in Icelandic as Dómkirkjan, is a small Lutheran church near Austurvöllur square that has served as the seat of the Bishop of Iceland since the late 18th century.

Kirkjutorg 4 (cropped) 2025 A closer view of the Kirkjuhvoll building on Kirkjutorg, now home to the Kvosin Hotel, shows the pale corrugated-iron cladding typical of central Reykjavík's older townhouses along this small square.