On a low hill west of the centre stands Landakotskirkja, the cathedral of the Catholic Diocese of Reykjavik. The 1929 design by Guðjón Samúelsson (who later went on to do Hallgrímskirkja) is neo-Gothic in concrete — a curiosity in a country that is overwhelmingly Lutheran.
The interior is darker and more decorated than most Icelandic churches: stained glass, an altar painting, faintly Mediterranean light. Catholics are still a small minority in Iceland (about 4 per cent) but Landakot's school, monastery and church have been one of the city's anchors for nearly a century.