A church in the West Fjords of Iceland (Northwestern part of the country) celebrates 150 years of existance today. The church is called in Icelandic Ögurkirkja, which could directly translate into English as “Rocky Inlet Church”. Read the full story

Of the many religious faiths in the world, one of the more unique made an important step towards official recognition when a Swedish court ruled The Madonna of Orgasm Church was entitled to register as a faith community. After being initially rejected by Sweden’s Legal, Financial and Administrative Services Agency, the Read the full story

It was initially believed to be a practical joke when the 2.5 tonne bronze statue of King David disappeared from the stonework shop in Copenhagen where it was being repaired. But it now appears that an extremely ambitious thief drove a large truck to the site and used a crane to cart off the iconic statue, presumably for the value of the bronze.

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In a surprising partnership, heavy metal music and religion have teamed up to lure the youths of Finland into church. In a real testimony to this Nordic nation’s obsession with heavy metal music, the concept of Metal Mass (Metallimessu) has begun to take root in many of the country’s traditional Lutheran churches, Yahoo! reports.

The music has become even more popular since 2006, when the Finnish band Lordi won the Eurovision Song Contest with its “Hard Rock Hallelujah.” What is somewhat of a niche genre in most of the world is unendingly popular in Finland. The capital Helsinki is loaded with local metal bands, metal nightclubs and even metal karaoke bars. In the summer, Finland hosts some of the world’s most popular heavy metal Read the full story

On Saturday a group of walkers from the small town of Neston near Liverpool, England took advantage of the glorious weather conditions to celebrate the area’s own Viking Heritage by walking between 2 churches.

This was the “Olsok walk” in celebration of St. Olave’s (Olaf’s) Day – the patron saint on Norway. In Norway the St. Olave’s walk is hundreds of miles – Neston’s answer was a modest 13 miles from St. Mary and St. Helen’s Church, which has excellent examples of Viking age stonework, to St. Olave’s Church in Chester.

Organisers Steve Harding – Professor of Biology & Viking expert at Nottingham and Dan Robinson – former Keeper of Archaeology at the Grosvenor Museum in Chester said; “Wirral Norsemen first tried to take Chester by force 1100 years ago. This time their intentions were entirely peaceful and the people of Chester were very welcoming – we’ll be back again next year”.

Neston is the same name as Nesstun near Bergen in Norway – a Viking name meaning “settlement at a promintory”

For more information visit: www.nottingham.ac.uk/-sczsteve/Olsok08.htm

A complete interactive listing of all the museums, galleries and multimedia exhibitions in South Iceland has been launched on the new travel website, South.is.

The huge area of South Iceland, with its few inhabitants and many sheep, does not immediately seem like prime museum territory – but the website South.is begs to differ. Listings on the site exist for dozens of museums and galleries, and over 40 churches of interest.

One of South Iceland’s museum highlights is, most visitors agree, the popular Skogar folk Museum, which has flourished under imaginative management, and by being set in beautiful countryside near the iconic Skogarfoss waterfall.

Other notable South Iceland museums include the exciting ‘Ghost Centre’ and the Hvolsvollur Saga Centre. Visitors with children may be interested in a visit to the Slakki Farm Zoo and the Icelandic Wonders Museum.

More than just a list of museums, South.is is a comprehensive guide to activities, accommodation and restaurants in south Iceland, among other things. The website is designed to be easily navigable and decorated with stunning photography.

South.is also provides an English language guide to the Icelandic horse, including where to ride them, where to buy things for them, and when horse shows are.

For more details on museums in the south of Iceland, visit South.is.