seat era, Hólar owned 352 estates that accounted for about a quarter of all the estates in the north of the country. Apart from that it enjoyed the privilege of driftwood (a valuable resource) along with rights to other advantages in several surrounding areas. The first printing press in Iceland was installed here around 1530 and Hólar was the last stronghold of the Catholic Church during the Reformation. The present cathedral, consecrated in 1763, is the oldest stone church in Iceland. Hólar remained a bishop's seat for almost seven centuries from 1106 until 1802 when Hólar was sold. During that era Hólar was the true centre of northern Iceland and one of the major cultural centres of the area. This status was partly due to the school that was around there for most of this time. Of the thirty six bishops who resided at Hólar, twenty three were Catholic and thirteen Lutheran. Many of these have left their mark in Icelandic history. Among the most well known are Jón Ögmundsson, the Sacred (1106-1121), Guðmundur Arason the Good (1203-1237), Jón Arason (1524-1550) and Guðbrandur Þorláksson (1571-1627). The first bishop in Hólar was Jón Ögmundsson the Sacred, who was ordained in 1106. He established and ran a seminary at Hólar and became very well known for this as well as his management of the church. The commonly used phrase "heim að Hólum" or "back home to Hólar" dates back to him. Guðmundur Arason the Good was famous for his rivalry with some of the most respected chieftains in northern Iceland. Guðmundur went on to lead a band of followers in what became a semi vagrant life. Jón Arason was the last Catholic bishop, he fought strongly against the Reformation and was finally beheaded along with his two sons in Skálholt in November 1550, and the resistance against the Reformation came to an end. Jón was a well known poet and it was he who brought the first printing press to Iceland in around 1530. Guðbrandur Þorláksson was famous for his active book publishing, among of them was the first translation of the Bible into Icelandic, which was printed in 1584. The printing of this Bible is thought to have played a crucial role in the preservation of the Icelandic language. Hólar became a vicarage after the bishop's seat was abolished until 1861 when the vicarage was moved to Viðvík. In 1952 Hólar