National Museum

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  • Address
    Suðurgata 41, Melar, 101
  • Show map Close map
  • Phone
    530 2200
  • Fax
    530 2201
  • Website
  • Transport
    bus: S1, S3-6, 12, 14

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Lonely Planet review

Displays at the National Museum are well thought out and give an excellent overview of Iceland's history and culture. The strongest section delves into the Settlement Era, with swords, silver hoards and a great little bronze model of Thor on display. However, the museum's most treasured artefact is a beautiful 13th-century church door, carved with the touching story of a knight and his faithful lion!

Upstairs, you really get a sense of the country's poverty over the following 600 years. Simple, homy artefacts utilise every scrap: check out the gaming pieces made from cod ear bones, and the wooden doll that doubled as a kitchen utensil. The museum was founded 140 years ago and shifted to its current location - across the large roundabout from Tjörn - in 1950. The museum's main exhibits are religious artefacts and tools from the Age of Settlement (late 9th to early 10th centuries) and later-era agricultural and nautical implements (both originals and well-worked models).