First Norse Pagan Temple in 1000 Years built in Reykjavik, Iceland | Asatru Architect Magnús Jensson
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- čas přidán 17. 05. 2021
- For the first time in over 1000 years, followers of the old Norse gods known as Ásatrú are building a temple in Reykjavik for what has become the fastest growing religion in Iceland. In this short video, The Midgardian interviews architect Magnús Jensson to discuss his 15 year odyssey to "create a mystery for the future" as part of the living Heathen religion.
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As a Hindu from India I would love to visit the Divine Temple of Norse Gods. My Salutations to Your Gods & Your Ansestors 🙏
Thank you for your kind remarks. Salutations to you and yours as well!
This is what the gods like
Asatru religion for all
As a buddhist it would be interesting to visit too
Lol I came here just to say the exact same thing 😆😆😆😆
I rejoice like a little child. I am a German and I am euphoric to visit a real place for our old gods. Greetings
As a sanatani hindu I would love to visit a norse temple
Good to see people in europe are reverting back to paganism
What he’s doing is phenomenal, but can we all take a moment to appreciate his beard!
A grand beard and long flowing locks of hair.
Is it wrong for me to want to touch it ...his beard of course lmao
I simp!
The gods clearly bless him with it
That is the kind of beard I'd hope a pagan temple designer to have
This makes me very happy to hear I am a very proud Norse pagan from Dublin Ireland lord Odin and lord Thor have been my gods my whole life I am a very proud heathen skal
That makes sense. Dublin was once a very Norse town, as I'm sure you know. Great archeological finds there and, if you go back far enough, there are scholars who believe that the Norse and Celtic traditions may have grown from the same root. Fascinating stuff and no better place to live and explore than Ireland. Thank you for watching and for your kind words. Honor to you and your family!
@@themidgardian thank you brother may the gods bless and keep you safe skal
I love that the gods of the old world are coming back it will bring so much culture and diversity to the world. And an acceptance of different beliefs and ways of thinking that Christianity does not.
this makes me so happy that people realising their pagan roots around the world
even when only 2 majorly pagan countries are left, india,japan
it used to be a shame to go to a christian majority country ,and see the hatred their people had towards paganism and polytheism
but now it feels good , really good
and that building is just, fabulous
India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar, Japan, Bali, Taiwan, Korea, Chinese Folk - Half the world is polytheist - All of them would be happy to see Pagan revival in Iceland - West will finally go to its roots - no doubt some organised religions will be unnerved by this development.
@@rps2349 more than half if you ask me
indeed
the idea of one religion only needs to be challenged
Many Hindus would disagree about being called pagans or polytheistic. Every god to them is a manifestation of one supreme deity.
@@brynjolf3974 But the same can be said of at least some branches of European paganism, such as Greek, and either way all the Indo-Europeans are connected and stem from the same root anyway
The OLD GODS are waking the North Europeans up again.
I really like the idea of building a temple for each God,i think a lot of Norse people will be interested in their Gods again.
Keep the great job,you are a hero for the pagans around the world!.
He's exactly what I would picture the architect of an Icelandic pagan temple to look like, lol.
This looks beautiful, if I ever visit Iceland would definitely visit. Hope more people will be following what you started here. Love and blessings from Nepal.
We hope so too! Best to you and yours in Nepal.
I will visit the temple of my brothers one day. Honor to the gods
It's absolutely gorgeous, Odin, Thor, and Freya will be pleased. I will be definitely visiting to worship the Aesir. As I do in nature. Skål
I am a really proud Norse pagan from Dublin Ireland I hope this temple has been built for the Norse gods brother lord Odin and lord Thor are my gods and you have my respect brother what you are doing is right hopefully it will bring more people to our great faith and to our gods skal peace brother
Delighted to hear from you, Cillian. You honor us well with your generous praise. Happy to hear you are on the path to freedom. We expect nothing less from our Irish friends, of course. I am the illustrator for The Midgardian Magazine print editions as well as the creator of the video you commented on and I lived in Dublin for many years. I miss it terribly. We hope to find the time and resources to continue to make videos that will inspire and inform our viewers to look at the past with a more critical eye and discover the essence of our people. Glory to you and to yours, Cillian!
@@themidgardian I am trying brother I am fighting a very hard battle at the moment of getting sober from alcohol but with the blessing from lord Odin and lord Thor I will do this
@@cillianrangarsson-fg7do I have no doubts. Remember, everything your ancestors went through over the course of the centuries was fated so that you could have this moment to make your mark on the world and earn your reputation. Your body and mind are gifts from your ancestors and will be a gift to your children and descendants too, so care for it well, remember Odin's wisdom from the Havamal regarding drinking, and go forth with honor. And many thanks for your kind words and support for our project. It's only right to send some support back your way.
@@themidgardian thank you brother you always have my support
@@cillianrangarsson-fg7do You honor us well, friend!
This building will be a great way to honor the Gods and Goddesses for decades to come. Wouldn’t it be cool to actually meet him in person? He is very soothing in a bad ass kinda of way.
This great to hear hope it goes the gods will be proud of yous Odin and Thor are my gods and I am a really proud Norse pagan and I am really proud to be a heathen to
Why
@@Lucretia916 because we are proud and honoured of are ancestry!
@@Lucretia916 because Judaism (Christianity and Islam) is a false religion based around worship of a jealous and evil false god
As a Hindu I can make complete sense of what he is trying to say and what he is trying to convey :)
Cant wait to visit it
Beautiful.
Wish we could all return to our ancestral religions.
Christianity is not native to Europe, Africa, Asia or the Americas.
We can make that choice ourselves.
GO PAGAN
@@sr.iluminado8606 idiotic statement.
@@ManatedMan Didn't you say that we had to return to our ancestral religions?
@@sr.iluminado8606 the klan was created in the 1800s in the united states and has Christianity as it's religion. How the hell is that anything to do with ancestral religions that predate Christianity by thousands of years? Read a book. Ffs.
Personally I would have loved to see something that was reflective of the older architectural styles. However I'm still quite interested to see this when it's finished
This building fits in with the shapes in the nature there the shape of the two higher peaks resemble mountains .
@@blazefairchild465 yeah I get that they are loosely representative of the landscape, but personally I would prefer something that evokes a distinct majesty of the religions origins, not a vague reflection of the surrounding terrain built in an incredibly uninspiring modern way.
Modern architects ruin everything....but that just my opinion obviously 😏
It is a good start. I admire his dedication and hard work.
That is really awesome. You should totally be proud, I'd love to visit someday. 👍
Awesome interview!
This is so beautiful 🖤
Awesome 👏🌱🌳💚
Hail to the Horned god
Thank you for your work! I am looking forward to visiting the pantheon when it is ready :D
As a norwegian I think Asatru is cool. When the norwegian vikings settled Iceland over 1000 years ago they take their old norse religion to Iceland. I think it is cool they have started it again there.
What a genuine guy 😊
Brilliant !!!
One day, i will travel to this place, seek more inspiration and knowlage and peace, within myself and the religion im proud to be apart of.
Exciting
I come from Latin decent Mexican majority of people would say I've never felt right my own people always acted differently with me I've always loved the Nordic ways gods and started practicing I grew up in what people say the ghetto I hate those terms well I started asatru do to a Nordic decent friend I started getting blessed I went from a 2 bedroom apartment to a 4 bedroom house a family married happy asatru is something strong
Don't you have your own paganism in Mexico ?
Odin the Wanderer never let fences or boundaries contain him, why shouldn't norse paganism follow his example? Happy to hear that the gods have blessed you brother :)
@@Tehrawrzorz What on earth are you rambling about? Asgard itself was walled in at the behest of Odin
I used to read Asterisks as a kid!!!! Hehehehehe if I do visit it'll be a childhood throwback of sorts :p
Farò di tutto per venire a visitarlo 👏👏👏
Thank you
Thank you for doing this for are people .
Love for the raise of are people
Thank you for your kind remarks. It's been our honor and privilege to do this work. It is a true labor of love and we hope to be able to continue to bring viewers like you new insights and interviews from this ancient and living tradition.
Love the sincerity, Magnus. Just met you, but I feel like somehow we’re old friends
Greetings from Germany. Wishing you the very best and the Gods' blessings ⚒ for this project. When will this place be completed? It was exciting to hear about this. When you do some research about history and how the old faith was abolished (or much rather the new religion - christianity - was forced on most of the people) way back when and when you learn about the time span (centuries) during which all this occured, in all the different places, reading about its comeback is even more excitting ⚒. A historic "highlight" here, in the place that now is Germany, was in the year 782 when over 4,000 people of the Saxon tribe were murdered because they refused to obey to Karl's (Charlemagne's) order of forced baptism/christening. However the "transformation" started well before that and went on long after that. The further North and East, the later the peoples became christianized. Way into the middle ages many people wore a cross on a chain along with a Mjölnir.... I guess just to be on the safe side or showing the respective symbold depending on who you met with ;-) Anyways that was long ago and this shouldn't be about bashing anyone. There are good and bad people in all religions and Nordic symbols were and still are abused as well. Even more important for anyone carrying a religious symbol to try to be a good person and be an example to others regardless of faith/belief/religion. Please keep up the good work until this place is finished and eventually can be visited. That would be great.
Why are everybody rushing him? Sagrada Familia has been in constructions for hundreds of years and no one bats an eye.
As a Norse Pagan from the USA with Swedish (Säffle, Värmland) and Norwegian ancestry, mostly. I would love to make a pilgrimage to this temple when it is done! Skål.Good luck on your journey. May the Aesir and Vanir guide you!
Im getting goosebumps
i’ve dreamt of this place! i’m an american pagan and my soul is calling me to iceland :) this will be the first place i visit, to pray and thank the gods for finding me, and allowing me into their mystical world
The odinist fellowship has a temple in England as well. Very wholesome little building with great folks
Odin has no place in england.
@@redterrorproductions1373Woden was a chief god among the English for thousands of years. Here's a documentary about the Anglo Saxon gods.
czcams.com/video/TlZN8-lwoMQ/video.html
@Eremias Ranwolf oh no. They were pagan much longer.
@Eremias Ranwolf yes in england. Before Christianity, they were pagan for thousands of years. Not Norse pagan if that is what you are referring to, but pagan non the less.
@@Mr.MarcusMario yeah I think you're referring to the Celtic religion
⚒️❤️
Thank you Snorri Sturluson for preservation to the best you could with the sagas, from a norwegian
Any word on when the construction of this temple will be complete? Looking forward to visiting it one day
You guys could probably contact the pagans trying to revive their culture in Greece. They ran into some trouble trying to reconstruct their temples. Maybe have some cross-cultural exchanges with them?
I would love to go, I was talking about going to all my friends days before its completion... I just knew i had to go.. I was finding myself through life.. I went through levayan satanism, old Egyptian beliefs, but in discovering the Norse Pagan Belief, it called to me and still calls me.. I love that it is less head in the clouds and more grounded, earthly, and Norse music, drums, and the likes really pulls out my spirit I enter a trance when listneing to it, and I really would love to learn more.. it makes me wish I was from Iceland to be able to go all the time. paganism has always been there.. but it is slowly increasing once more
It sounds as though you are one of the proud few who has the inner resolve, courage, and personal initiative to listen to the Fates when they call. But don't be hard on yourself for not being in Iceland. We have traveled to Iceland many times and have the privilege of discussing our heathenry at length with key thinkers in the tradition. What we have learned is that heathenry grows from the place where you are, the nature, the people, the essence of all the life that is around you. You are a heathen because you have allowed yourself to become one. I'm sure the Icelanders would be glad to receive you, but know that it is not a requirement to make a pilgrimage. If you do go, be respectful of course, and soak up the beauty, but never forget that you carry the fylgja of your family within you and it has traveled with you since the beginning of time to bring you to the place where you are so you can fulfill your destiny. Be proud of yourself, fellow seeker. You honor us with your comment and we wish you well on your journey. Hopefully we will be able to develop additional content that will be of continued service to you.
This sounds a cool project. But I thought I would mention that there's been a temple in Glastonbury to native British Goddesses since 2000, though it's quite modest and not a purpose-built construction, I don't think. So that was an earlier Pagan temple in modern times, but as I said, I don't think it was specifically built as such.
Interesting and excellent information. Thank you.
@@themidgardian No probs :-)
The Odinist Fellowship has a temple in Newark.
So when is it gong to be finished? I seem to remember reading awhile ago it would be done by now. Was it maybe Covid that caused the delay?
The construction costs went up (from 127.000.000ISK to roughly 300.000.000ISK, or ca. 1.9 million €). Allthough there was a big donation from religious groups from Thailand, the official date of planned completion is still to be announced.
@@xGNxNIHxGNx It was only just now that I came across your reply. I'm curious who the "religious groups from Thailand" were. I like the notion that Buddhists (if that's who they were) would contribute to the building of an Asatru temple!
Viking gods are the real gods to travel the world and survive in those days gods love you
King
I am very excited about this temple. Thanks for this interview...do you can update the status of the build?
I will be happy to create a new update video when back in Iceland, yes. Thank you for watching.
@@themidgardian will be awesome when you go to Iceland...I am brazilian, 26 years old and follow the north pagan faith for many years...I will travel to Iceland in 2023 or 2024, to meet this institution and The build of temple.
Imma have to make a trip
YES!
As a new pagan this has just come up to me I am taking this video as a sign from the gods I need to go there an meet with other pagans to learn about my ancestral background and connect with the earth again!!
Yes, you should absolutely do that. Don't rely on American online "gurus." The best of the Old Ways is only transmitted in person and from those who've spent lifetimes cultivating their knowledge and experience. I hope to see you in Iceland!
@@themidgardian
As an American I agree with this sentiment a lot. Americans are known to shit up the internet when it comes to this sort of thing. American “pagans” like to bring their baggage with them, so to speak, to these faiths. Lots of unfounded universalism, intersectional politics, and other useless things.
When Is This Temple Going To Be Finished???
Does Anyone know?
🙂👍🙋♂️🇧🇻.
When will it be done?
I hope this lovely temple is build lord Odin and lord Thor would be very proud of you
When it will be finished?
They need a major GoFundMe.
Good idea. In interviews with Hilmar Orn Hilmarsson, the High Priest of the Asatru Society of Iceland, he indicated that the reason that they haven't done things like that is because they feel it's vital to the integrity of the project to complete it independently. This will be discussed more in the feature-length documentary on Asatru that will be coming soon in 2023.
@@themidgardian Any news on that documentary?
@@jackholloway1 Hoping that it will be available by Spring 2024.
@@themidgardian I'm looking forward to watching it!
The video is from 2 years ago, is the temple ready now?
Denmark made one too
Plus the odinist Temples in both the UK and Spain, and also a small one that is closer to the historic record in northern iceland.
Look up "Ásheimur Hof".😉
Yes, we have a temple for Odin in England too.
Hopefully many more to come!
@@andershveteby6574 Cheers
My smile is just not ending 😍😍😍
@@xGNxNIHxGNx I don’t see why Spain has one - they are no Germanic?
@@wulfsorenson8859
Spain has Germanic origins from the Visigoths. I think the religion is somewhat of a broadly European birthright anyway.
No update?
I was an atheist until i saw his omnipotent beard 🔥
Swing hard, Saint Boniface
very interesting concept, how is the funding going? when do you think the project will be finished? i think it could come in a better time as christianity is fading away, and people end up like atheists, such as myself. Still, i feel more connected to this religion than anything else, simply because of history and ancestry.
Why is this place...still not built?
Hi! I have one question: Who’s allowed to be part of the asatru?
Depends on which group you would like to belong to. There are some groups that are very restrictive, but for the most part, if you are an honorable person, if you care for your family, revere your ancestors, and serve your people, than anyone can be an Asatruar. Asatru, like most heathen traditions, grows from the place where it lives among the people who nurture it. If you nurture Asatru where you are, if you live honorably, revere your ancestors, and care for your family and your people, then you are an Asatruar.
@@themidgardian thank you so much!
Based on what you tell me, I think i’m able to be an asatru!
@@hentercc8238 We wish you the very best on your journey. May you bring honor to your name and to your family.
@@themidgardian thank you for that! That’s what I try to do so hard every day and I’m closer to reach my most valuable goals as I go forwards. One day I will visit Iceland and it’s a fact that I’m going to visit your temple, count on that.
Europeans
I will own all of Japan South Korea North Korea Taiwan Iceland Greenland and Antarctica and I will have my Danielle forever
That guy milked the Ásatrúarfélagið well
Ouch.
I really admire Norse culture and mythology. In fact, I think that Odin, Thor, Baldr, Freya and so on represent complementary values to Christianity like: courage, strength, honor, virility, self-sufficiency, preservation of nature and so on. However, I understand that the great divergence of paganism from Christianity is that it preaches HUMAN AND ANIMAL SACRIFICE TO THE GODS. This is unacceptable nowadays, because it is a practice that totally contradicts the ethical principles of basic universal human rights such as the right to life, spiritual self-direction and freedom. Christianity does not preach the extermination of people (usually by hanging/Uppsala) as a sacrifice pleasing to Christ. On the other hand, Christianity has become a political machine organized in the hands of the extreme right. Anyway, as long as slaughter sacrifices to Odin or Thor are not practiced, as it was in the past, I don't see any problems in turning normatively with pagan temples. It is also necessary to eradicate the white supremacism that has been defended a lot lately within paganism (also by the extreme right).
The God of Abraham, and of Jesus, demanded huge amounts of animal sacrifice until the Romans destroyed the temple culture in Jerusalem. He also seemed to condone human sacrifice at least once in the case of Jephthah's daughter. But of course times change and Christians and modern Jews don't do it, nor do modern Pagans.
An interesting point. Animal sacrifice ended very long ago among Pagans, as it did for people of the Abrahamic faith. As far as human rights go, pagans and the laws they created in Iceland were actually created democratically and had a much higher respect for life than Medieval Christians and their modern inheritors. For instance, pagans had no state sanctioned system for executions and, instead, outlawed their criminals. Their laws were democratic and open to public discussion, gender equality was far greater, social inequality was far less, and - speaking to the slaughter of animals - they did so because a) very little grows in the far north, so slaughtering and eating animals was essential to survival and b) if an animal must be slaughtered to sustain the life of others, then it was proper to revere the animal and dedicate it to the divine in thanks, much in the same way many Native American tribes did/do. Regardless of their ancient practices, they were far more "humane" than say the way the modern food industry engages in factory farming of meat.
The real key to understanding the ancients is not to look back at them through our contemporary lenses, but to place ourselves in their world and try to imagine how we might look to them.
Thank you for your thoughtful comment.
@@themidgardian, I fully understand that it is not possible to look at the activities of the pagans of that time with contemporary eyes, because they are totally different times and contexts. Furthermore, the statement is true that Christianity killed a lot and much more than paganism (I am referring to the terrible deaths by torture and incineration practiced by the inquisition of the Roman Catholic Apostolic Church in the Middle Ages). In this way, I believe that it is currently no longer viable or possible to sacrifice animals or people to any deity, as it is something diametrically unethical, inhuman, draconian and extremely distant from the human rights laws that humanity has so sacrificially conquered over centuries. Gods have always been and always will be archetypes for humanity, but in the 21st century it is necessary to rethink/replan the sacrificial form of worship in their cults.
@@livrowland171, Yes friend, the Jews made sacrifices not only of animals, but also of human beings to their god Yahweh. Human sacrifices were done covertly, but there are indications that the Bible gives us from where it is implied that there was indeed human sacrifice. Jews are not and never have been innocent, despite the strong moral appeal of their Judeo-Christian precepts. What I actually defend is the following: regardless of sect, religion, mythology or spirituality that the human being has, it is necessary to ABOLISH animal/human sacrifice to the gods. In the 21st century this is something totally unacceptable.
its a shame that in my area im called a satanistic nazi... just for believing in what we saxons were😢
The Romans will always call their enemies "barbarians."
Odin... Reincarnated... If this does not speak truth... May hel take me and do as they please... I might be Sámi... But I think this is a good start for the Scandinavians to retrieve their old ways... Hopefully... In about a hundred or so years, they'll have a dual-alphabet... Nordic and Latin....
I have no issues with Christians being humble enough to not disagree with me or shine my shoes with their tongues. Christians make fine slaves and serfs. We would not want you to get uppity like a noble and involve yourself in peasant rebellions. All that pride and independent thought is almost enough to turn a noble yellow. The Germanic pagan kings lived in wooding houses and had to worry about his citizens armed with spears and swords locking him inside and setting it on fire, castles and disarming the peasants was a great ideal as was using church to keep the people on their knees like good little slaves. Pagan kings where way to generous, We need to be able to get away with taxing them to starvation, keeping them to weak to rebel. Germanic pagans where free, Christians became serf in the name of god and then was giving pity and then upgraded to peasants. Nobles and priests abused them to the point of the nobles feeling sorry for them. The only king, dictators, presidents that I trust with unlimited power is myself.
Actually the Cathedral at 1:10 looks more like a Norse pagan temple than this guy's design.
Danny, pagans tend to be regionally specific. Since the Icelanders are part of the living heathen tradition, it makes perfect sense that their temple would reflect who they are and what they feel represents their tradition today. General consensus among leading heathens is that it's inappropriate for one heathen in one place to tell another heathen in another place how they should honor their land, ancestors, or deities. Thank you for taking the time to comment.
IHN!
This temple was prevented from being built because the Gods were offended by the hideous design. It’s been plagued with bad luck since its inception.
Are you a fortune teller? Perhaps its all going exactly as planned. Who can tell until the days are done and the cycle start anew?
@@themidgardian it clearly isn’t going as planned is it. The disgusting design is an offence to the Gods and you know it.
Ah yes, what *would* we do without Wulf Sorenson to tell us how the Gods think and feel?
@@isabellp.5730 clearly I’m feeling what the Gods want a lot more than you hun if you seriously believe that hideous modern monstrosity should serve as a sacred place of worship. The Gods obviously agree because the project has been plagued by bad luck since it’s inception.
It's isn't "Norse" Gods, it's GERMANIC gods
I think I'll let the Icelander's speak for themselves. Thanks, professor. P.S. The people who believed in the "Germanic" gods didn't call their gods Germanic, if you're issue is authenticity. The enemies of the Germanic peoples (Romans) are those who coined that term...but we're not Romans so we allow the people who live and practice the faith to choose their own labels. It's a Roman imperialist/Christian enterprise to try to create a uniform homogeneous term to classify all heathen peoples of Northern Europe using Latin terms. I mean, if we're splitting hairs. But I'll bet you knew that, huh? www.etymonline.com/word/germanic
@@themidgardian Exactly. I would like to scond the point that the Romans considered every place "north of the alps" "Northern", "Nordic" (this can be read in: "Ásatrú for Beginners: A Modern Heathen's Guide to the Ancient Northern Way", by Mathias Nordvig PhD). So the "Germanic" tribes of what is now Germany worshiped the same Gods as the peoples of what is now Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Iceland, ... except that the further North it was "Odin" and "Thor" and the further South they were "Wodan" (with variations depending on region Wuotan, Wotan, Wothan, etc.) and "Donar".
Any human sacrifices soon ?
Good thought. Ugly building.
De gustibus non disputandum.
Build your own.
Jesus Christ is the One True God! There is no salvation apart from Him ☦✝
Salvation from what? The wrath of Christians? Some look at the history of Christianity and see nothing but hypocrisy (thou shall not steal, etc.), genocide (thou shalt not murder), forced labor and enslavement (thou shalt not covet). Many might argue that you dishonor your ancestors (remember 'honor thy father and mother'?) by subscribing to the Roman imperial brainwashing program, allowing their memory and struggles to be erased from history. Pagans never went on a campaign of extermination against other people because of their ancestral beliefs. Those who follow the "Prince of Peace" and promote "brotherly love" did that. Pagans do not believe in proselytizing and they find the need to convert people (often by sword point and with fire) to show weakness of belief, not confidence. Perhaps the reason why people are turning their backs on Christianity is because Christians speak out of both sides of their mouths. Regardless, whatever path you choose, we hope it will serve you and your people, and bring them pride and peace. Sadly, looking at the last 1000 years of Christian history, we see nothing but slaughter of innocents and oppression wherever the cross has been raised. This is simply a matter of historical fact. Perhaps a more convincing way to display one's faith is with loving and honorable actions over words. One might go so far as to say that pagans are not the enemies of Christ, but "Christians" are. In conclusion, please consider this: could it not be that there are no false gods, only false prophets?
HE was the savior for the Heebroo'z and they rejected him.
@@themidgardian All sides have done horrible things at some point. But we've moved on. Christians today are not the same as the ones in the past and same applies to the various pagan religions, or really a lot of religions in general.