Reykjavík Grapevine - 17.07.2015, Page 40

40 The Reykjavík GrapevineIssue 10 — 2015TRAVEL
In Icelandic folklore and history, the Stran-
dir region has forever been associated
with sorcery and witchcraft, with records
showing that alleged sorcerers were be-
ing burnt at the stake in nearby Trékyllisvík
as late as the 17th century. This reputation
served as inspiration for the museum,
which offers visitors a chance to learn
about Iceland’s folklore and witchcraft,
and the various strange runes and con-
traptions with which it was performed.
The museum’s manager, Sigurður At-
lason, prefers to go by the title ‘sorcerer’.
This seems fitting: with his glinting eyes
and unruly hair—often constrained by a
peculiar woollen cap—one wouldn’t be
surprised if he suddenly started chanting
and waving around pieces of wood with
magical stave carvings.
When asked if he tailored his look to
fit his position, Sigurður responds in the
negative. “I’ve just become a little eccen-
tric over time,” he says. “I used to be such
a gentleman, but now I don’t care what I
look like. Still, with this job, being odd cer-
tainly helps.”
While not a native of Strandir, Sigurður
found a home in Hólmavík in the 1970s
and has been there ever since. “I came
here in the summer when my brother was
working here. I meant to leave in the fall,
but I didn’t have enough money for the
bus. I’m still saving up for that bus fare,” he
says, laughing.
A success from the start
The idea for the museum was first floated
in a 1996 report by anthropologist Jón
Jónsson, where he explored different pos-
sibilities for tourism in Strandir based on
locals’ suggestions. Subsequent research
showed that a museum focused on the
area’s history of witchcraft was indeed a
viable option, and work commenced on
creating the display. The Museum of Sor-
cery and Witchcraft finally opened in the
year 2000, and has been steadily growing
in popularity ever since.
Sigurður has worked at the museum
since it opened, and he says that little has
changed in the fifteen years that have
since passed. “It just became a classic the
day after it opened,” he says. “Changing
something in here would be almost blas-
phemous.”
According to Sigurður, the museum
would barely be able to operate without
the continued interest of foreign tourists,
which make up about 80% of its clien-
tele. A unique spot by
any standard, it is fre-
quently written up in
travel publications and
on-line, and regularly
appears on lists pur-
porting to detail “the
world’s strangest tour-
ist destinations. This
helps draw a crowd,
Sigurður says, adding that he noticed
a surge in popularity when one of their
display items, the necropants, was men-
tioned on popular British comedy quiz
show QI.
Because of the museum’s popularity,
Sigurður himself became somewhat of
an iconic character in his home region, a
Strandir “sorcerer” type. “I played the part
for a while, but it made me uncomfortable,
so I very deliberately stopped,” he says.
“Creating this character—this sorcerer—
and placing him inside the museum was
initially useful for drawing attention to it.
Eventually, however, the focus became too
much on myself, and I didn’t like that. This
project is so much more than just one per-
son.”
Indeed, Sigurður is very ambitious
about his work and despite all talk of sor-
cerers and eccentricities, he is very much
down to earth when it comes to his aims
for the museum. “My greatest ambition in
this project has always been to meet the
goals we set out with in the beginning: to
do necessary research, and to support the
tourism industry and increase local em-
ployment opportunities. It has all worked
out well, so we can be proud.”
A slow-growing establishment
Although it hasn’t changed in essence,
there have been a few additions to the
museum over the years. In 2005, a com-
panion exhibition
called ‘The Sorcerer’s
Cottage’ opened in
nearby Bjarnarfjörður,
which shows the liv-
ing conditions of the
people who believed in
sorcery and witchcraft.
Then, in 2009, a small
restaurant opened in
the museum’s building, focusing on local
produce.
Sigurður says they are always explor-
ing possibilities for further expanding the
museum’s operations. One idea has been
to create another companion exhibition,
this time in Trékyllisvík, a very important
place in the history of Icelandic witchcraft.
“It would be great if we could pull it off,”
Sigurður says, “but financing such a proj-
ect would be very difficult. Looking at it
realistically, it’s only a distant dream.”
Sigurður firmly believes progress
should be made in small steps. “There’s
plenty left to do right here in Hólmavík
anyway—even the house itself needs to
be finished and made more attractive.
My dream is to continue the development
process slowly but surely. We don’t have to
do a lot each year, just continue at a steady
pace without any blood money from the
banks.”
A weathered wooden structure with a turf roof. From the
outside, Hólmavík’s main tourist attraction sure doesn’t look
like much, although its appearance is perhaps in line with
what you would expect to find in Strandir, one of the more
remote regions of the already-remote Westfjords. And the
exterior is rather appropriate, as the building houses the
fabled Museum of Sorcery and Witchcraft, which attracts
around 6,000 visitors annually—quite the boon for a small
town like Hólmavík, with a population of less than 400.
Words Ragna Ó. Guðmundsdóttir
Photos Art Bicnick
In Strandir:
Sorcery, Tourism
And Cats
“I used to be such a
gentleman, but now I
don’t care what I look
like. Still, with this job,
being odd certainly
helps.”