Built from 1774 to 1778, this little church in the town of Vestmannaeyjar on the island of Heimaey in Iceland’s Westman Islands is lucky to still exist.
On January 23, 1973, Eldfell (the conspicuous cinder cone volcano in the background) erupted without warning, prompting a heroic and swift evacuation of the island’s 5,300 residents. Some 400 homes were destroyed, but not this church — though as the photograph below dramatically shows, it was a near thing.
This famous view of the church during the eruption is on display at the fascinating and wonderful Eldheimar volcanic exhibition in Vestmannaeyjar. For my photo, I did my best to position myself in the same spot where this shot was taken. Unfortunately, a new building partially obstructs the church from that location, so I had to compromise my framing and shift to the right to include the entire church.
For my review of the wonderful Yashica T4 Zoom, have a look here.
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