Reykjavík Grapevine - 24.08.2007, Side 27

36_REYKJAVÍK_GRAPEVINE_ISSUE 13_007_DESTINATION REYKJAVÍK_GRAPEVINE_ISSUE 13_007_LOCATION_37
Fly and discover
airiceland.is
/ tel. 570 3030
Air Iceland destinations
NARSARSSUAQ
Greenland
FAROE ISLANDS
REYKJAVÍK
AKUREYRI
EGILSSTAÐIR
WESTMAN ISLANDS
ÍSAFJÖRÐUR
VOPNAFJÖRÐUR
GRÍMSEY
KULUSUK
Greenland
NERLERIT INAAT
Greenland
NUUK
Greenland
Get your action-packed day tour brochure
at hotels, airports or any travel agent.
ÍS
L
E
N
S
K
A
/S
IA
.I
S
/I
C
E
3
47
52
0
4
/0
7
Established in 1863, the National Museum of
Iceland has been located in a spacious building
on Suðurgata since the 1950s. The museum’s
collection counts more than two million photo-
graphs and 60 thousand objects from different
periods of Icelandic history, used to document
the development through the centuries and
preserve the country’s heritage.
The museum was closed for renovation
in 1998 and reopened in 2004, completely
restructured. Today, it offers a permanent ex-
hibition as well as temporary educational ex-
hibitions. The permanent exhibition, “Making
of a Nation – Heritage and History in Iceland”
is focused on Iceland’s history. Divided into
different periods, the exhibition’s theme is a
journey through time and gives a good insight
into the country’s culture by displaying a large
collection of unique artefacts from the 9th
century and onwards. To make the exhibition
more appealing and informative, various forms
of multimedia are used to explain important
matters and enrich the overall experience. By
emphasising how the past meets the present,
the exhibition puts the Icelandic society in a
historical context and examines how the na-
tion has developed and how the local lifestyle
has changed immensely since the early settlers
sailed to the country in the 800s.
In addition to the permanent exhibition, the
museum also plays host to numerous tempo-
rary photography and detailed research exhibi-
tions featuring items from its large collection.
After an instructive walk through history, you
can relax with a cup of coffee at café Kaffitár
on the ground floor or visit the museum shop,
which stocks souvenirs, books, toy replicas and
unique designs by art students, inspired by the
items on display at the museum.
Sudurgata 41, 101 Reykjavík
Open daily from 10:00–17:00
Admission on Wednesdays is free
National
Museum
of Iceland
Text by Steinunn Jakobsdóttir
Photo by Gulli
I’ve always been crazy about the
sea and the downtown harbour
and if I need to take a stroll,
I usually just cruise around
the dock. I guess it’s because
my grandpa owned a freezing
plant and my dad used to take
me down to the harbour when
I was a kid.
Fashion designer and Naked Ape storeowner
Sara María Eyþórsdóttir recently opened the
brand-new store/workshop Forynja at Trygg-
vagata 16.