Iceland review - 2015, Page 108

106 ICELAND REVIEW
The National Museum of Iceland is the first museum I remem-
ber. Located near my home, my friend Finnur and I went
there often to see a Viking sword, a skull from the same
period, and Helga, my grandmother, who was one of the old ladies
sitting in the rooms in her peysuföt (national costume), keeping a
watchful eye on the museum’s things.
What a world of adventure it was for a child to see our entire
history in one building. The museum is still located in the same
building, but the old peysuföt-dressed ladies are long gone.
The National Museum of Iceland is one of 34 museums in the
capital region. All of the country’s main museums, including the
National Gallery of Iceland, Reykjavík Art Museum, Ásmundur
Jónsson Museum and The Settlement Exhibition are in the capital.
In neighboring communities we find the Museum of Design and
Applied Art in Garðabær, and outside Mosfellsbær is Gljúfrasteinn,
dedicated to the life and work of Iceland’s only Nobel Prize winner,
writer Halldór Laxness.
On Reykjanes peninsula where Keflavík International Airport is
located, there are eight museums, from the Viking World museum
to Hljómahöllin, Iceland’s only Museum of Rock ’n ’Roll; both in
Reykjanesbær municipality.
West Iceland has 16 museums. The Settlement Center in
Borgarnes and Eiríksstaðir in the Dalir region are great for learning
more about the Saga times in Iceland.
The West Fjords have 19 museums. The biggest is the
Westfjords Heritage Museum in Ísafjörður, and the smallest must
be the Memorial Museum Kört in Trékyllisvík in Strandir, exhibiting
local crafts and design from the Middle Ages to modern times.
There are 24 museums in Northwest Iceland: the Herring Era
Museum in Siglufjörður and Glaumbær turf farm in Skagafjörður
are probably the best-known.
In Northeast Iceland there are 25 museums, ten of which are
in Akureyri. First to come to mind is Safnasafnið Icelandic Folk
and Outsider Art Museum in Svalbarðseyri, opposite Akureyri;
Sigurgeir’s Bird Museum by Lake Mývatn and the Whale Museum
in Húsavík are also among my favorites.
East Iceland has 20 museums, from Bustarfell turf farm in
Vopnafjörður in the north, to Þórbergssetur, about the life and work
of author Þórbergur Þórðarsson, near Jökulsárlón glacial lagoon,
in the south.
South Iceland boasts the same number of museums, 20 in total.
The newest is the Eldheimar volcano museum in Vestmannaeyjar,
while the oldest is the turf farm at Keldur, the oldest remaining
house in Iceland. It was built in the 12th century, centuries before
my grandmother walked this earth. *
There are more than 150 museums in
Iceland, big and small, scattered around
all regions, documenting nature, culture
and history by varied approaches. From
the sagas to folk art, witchcraft to rock
’n’ roll, and taxidermy birds to volcanic
eruptions, everyone should be able to
find something of interest.
COMPILED BY ALËX ELLIOTT, ELLIOTT
BRANDSMA, EYGLÓ SVALA ARNARSDÓTTIR,
MARK ASCH, MICA ALLAN AND ZOË ROBERT.
CULTURAL PIT STOPS
MUSEUMS SPECIAL PROMOTION
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BY PÁLL STEFÁNSSON.