Magnus Cathedral, Cathedral ruins in Kirkjubøur, Faroe Islands
Magnus Cathedral is an unfinished church ruin made of basalt in Kirkjubøur, Faroe Islands, with walls that reach nearly nine meters in height. The Gothic window openings and massive stone blocks show the original intention to create a monumental medieval structure.
Bishop Erlendur began construction in the late 13th century when the Faroe Islands belonged to the Norwegian Archdiocese of Nidaros. The project was abandoned during the Reformation period, leaving the church without a roof and without use.
Islanders call the ruin Múrurin, "the Wall", not Magnus Cathedral; that name was coined by the architectural historian J. Meyer in his 1925 History of Norwegian Art and lacks a firm basis, since the church dedicated to Magnus mentioned in the Saga of Bishop Arni around 1290 cannot be tied to this building. The ruins appeared on a series of Faroese stamps in 1988.
The site is freely accessible and sits right at the village center of Kirkjubøur, just steps from other historical buildings. The walls are visible in all weather, though wind and rain call for weatherproof clothing during the short walk around.
The only known relic of Saint Thorlak, Iceland's patron saint, is a bone fragment kept with other saints' relics in a lead box set into the sanctuary's end wall, known as "The Golden Locker". An inscription also records a relic of Saint Magnus Erlendsson, Earl of Orkney.
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