[1] Hólar is in the valley Hjaltadalur, some 379 km (235.50 mi) from the national capital of Reykjavík.

It is the site of the main campus of Hólar University College, a site of historical buildings and archeological excavation, home to the Center for the history of the Icelandic horse, Hólar Cathedral, and the turf house Nýibær.

[2] Near the end of the 10th century, King Olaf I of Norway convinced his subjects to accept Christianity, then sent Christian missionaries to Iceland, where they were quickly accepted; around 1000 Icelanders made a peaceful decision that all should convert.

It was founded as a diocese in 1106[3] by bishop Jón Ögmundsson and soon became one of Iceland's two main centers of learning.

The religious conflict was brutally resolved in 1550 when the last Catholic bishop, Jón Arason, was taken to the south of Iceland and beheaded, with his two sons, in Skálholt.