Museum sights in Iceland
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Reykjavík Art Museum
The excellent Reykjavík Art Museum is split over three sites: Ásmundarsafn, Hafnarhúsið and Kjarvalsstaðir.
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B
Víkin Maritime Museum
Based appropriately in a former freezing plant for fish, the small Víkin Maritime Museum celebrates the country’s seafaring heritage, focusing on the trawlers that transformed Iceland’s economy. Much of the information is in Icelandic only, but silent film footage of trawler crews in action is worth a look. Your ticket also allows you aboard the coastguard ship Óðinn, a veteran of the Cod Wars (of the 1970s when British and Icelandic fishermen quite literally came to blows over fishing rights in the North Atlantic), as part of guided tours at 1pm, 2pm and 3pm (2pm and 3pm only at weekends in winter, closed January and February).
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Culture House
Creeping into the darkened rooms of the Culture House is a true thrill for saga lovers. A permanent exhibition covers saga history: from a Who’s Who of Norse gods to a fascinating account of Árni Magnússon, who devoted his life to saving Icelandic manuscripts, and died of a broken heart when his Copenhagen library went up in flames. Two hushed display rooms contain the original vellums; if you’re interested in seeing more, contact the Árni Magnússon Institute.
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Reykjavík 871 +/-2
The city’s newest exhibition, Reykjavík 871 +/-2, is based around a single 10th-century Viking house but shows what miracles can be achieved when technology, archaeology and imagination meet. Through 21st-century wizardry, a fire leaps from the hearth, while around the walls ghostly settlers materialise to tend crops, hunt, launch a boat, and bury their dead. Go and marvel!
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E
Perlan
Looking like half of Barbarella’s bra, Perlan is a complex based around the huge hot-water tanks on Öskjuhlíð hill. It’s about 2km from the city centre (take bus 18 from Hlemmur).
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F
National Museum
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 most treasured artefact in the museum 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, homey artefacts utilise every scrap: check out the gaming pieces made from cod ear bones, and the wooden doll that doubled as a kitchen utensil.
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Akureyri Museum
The Akureyri Museum houses an interesting collection of art and historical items from the Settlement Era to the present. Among the displays are photographs, farming tools and re-creations of early Icelandic homes. An interesting exhibit details the life of early settlers along Eyjafjörður and displays artefacts from Gásir, one of Iceland’s most fruitful archaeological digs. Plans are afoot to turn the site (near Árskógsströnd) into an interactive historical attraction. The museum garden became the first place in Iceland to cultivate trees when a nursery was established here in 1899.
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Húsavík Museum
A folk, maritime and natural-history museum all rolled into one complex, the Húsavík Museum is one of the best local museums you’ll find in Iceland. The museums occupy the 1st and 3rd floors of the building (the library is on the 2nd floor), and an annexe nearby. The natural-history display has the usual array of stuffed animals, including arctic foxes, a frightening-looking hooded seal, and a stuffed polar bear, which was welcomed to Grímsey in 1969 with both barrels of a gun.
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Icelandic Phallological Museum
The unique Icelandic Phallological Museum houses a bizarre collection of penises. From pickled pickles to petrified wood, there are over 300 different types of family jewels on display. There are no actual human contributions though. But don’t rush to volunteer – four donors-in-waiting have already promised to bequeath their manhood (signed contracts are mounted on the wall). Quirky sidenote: all displays are translated into Esperanto.
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Saga Museum
The endearingly bloodthirsty Saga Museum is where Icelandic history is brought to life by eerie silicon models and a soundtrack of thudding axes and hair-raising screams. Don’t be surprised if you see some of the characters wandering around town, as moulds were taken from Reykjavík residents (the museum’s owner is Ingólfur Arnarson, and his daughters are the Irish princess and the little slave gnawing a fish!).
reviewed
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Sigurjón Ólafsson Museum
The Sigurjón Ólafsson Museum is a peaceful little place showcasing the varied works – portrait busts, driftwood totem poles and abstract football players – of sculptor Sigurjón Ólafsson (1908–82). A salty ocean breeze blows through the wooden rooms, which also contain Reykjavík’s only shoreside cafe. On Tuesday from early July to August there are classical concerts at 8.30pm. Buses 12 and S5 pass close by.
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Reykjavík Museum of Photography
Despite its grand name, the Reykjavík Museum of Photography is really just an exhibition room above Reykjavík City Library. It’s definitely worth dropping in, though – its quintessentially Scandinavian exhibitions are free and usually thought-provoking. If you take the lift up, walk down the stairs, which are lined with funny old black-and-white photos.
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Flugsafnið
Flugsafnið, in a hangar at Akureyri airport, charts the history of aviation in Iceland from the first flight in 1919 to the present. Photographs and memorabilia are on display, and you can visit the workshop where historic gliders and small aircraft are stored and repaired.
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K
Einar Jónsson Museum
You’ll find gleaming white-marble sculptures inside the fascinating Einar Jónsson Museum. The building itself was designed by the artist and contains his austere penthouse flat, with unusual views over the city.
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Ásgrímur Jónsson Museum
If you want to see more of Ásgrímur Jónsson's work than is found at the National Gallery, the National Gallery also owns the Ásgrímur Jónsson Museum, open by appointment only.
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Árni Magnússon Institute
Árni Magnússon Institute Árni Magnússon devoted his life to saving Icelandic manuscripts. If you're interested in seeing them for yourself, contact the instute.
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Húsavík Museum
A folk, maritime and natural-history museum all rolled into one complex, the Húsavík Museum is one of the best local museums you’ll find in Iceland. The museums occupy the 1st and 3rd floors of the building (the library is on the 2nd floor), and an annexe nearby. The natural-history display has the usual array of stuffed animals, including arctic foxes, a frightening-looking hooded seal, and a stuffed polar bear, which was welcomed to Grímsey in 1969 with both barrels of a gun. The folk-history exhibits cover everything from a re-creation of an early farmhouse to a healthy collection of 16th-century weapons and historic books – including a copy of a Bible printed in 1584.…
reviewed
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Aquarium & Natural History Museum
The Aquarium & Natural History Museum has an interesting collection of stuffed birds and animals, plus fish tanks of hideous Icelandic fish and a live video link to a puffin colony. The museum acts as a hospital for puffin chicks.
reviewed
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N
Culture House
Creeping into the darkened rooms of the Culture House is a true thrill for saga lovers. A permanent exhibition covers saga history: from a Who’s Who of Norse gods to a fascinating account of Árni Magnússon, who devoted his life to saving Icelandic manuscripts, and died of a broken heart when his Copenhagen library went up in flames. Two hushed display rooms contain the original vellums; if you’re interested in seeing more, contact the Árni Magnússon Institute.
reviewed
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O
Akureyri Museum
This museum houses an interesting collection of art and historical items from the Settlement Era to the present. Among the displays are photographs, farming tools and re-creations of early Icelandic homes. An interesting exhibit details the life of early settlers along Eyjafjörður and displays artefacts from Gásir, one of Iceland’s most fruitful archaeological digs. Plans are afoot to turn the site (near Árskógsströnd) into an interactive historical attraction. Stay tuned for details. The museum garden became the first place in Iceland to cultivate trees when a nursery was established here in 1899.
reviewed
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