Making of a Nation - Heritage and History in Iceland
The National Museum of Iceland's permanent exhibition, Making of a Nation - Heritage and History in Iceland, is intended to provide insight into the history of the Icelandic nation from the Settlement to the present day.
From mire to metal
In the past, iron smelting from bog iron was performed in Iceland. The use of metallurgical furnaces called bloomeries were used to smelt iron throughout the Middle Ages. Thereafter the practice steadily declined until it was completely abandoned in the 17th or 18th century. The knowledge of this ancient craftmanship has since been forgotten to time, leaving numerous questions about the bloomery process unanswered.
In the eleventh hour
In the 1970s, only a few of Iceland’s turf houses were still inhabited. Having served as the primary form of housing for more than a thousand years, the Icelandic turf farm had now played out its role, and with no comprehensive preservation plan in sight, the remaining farms faced extinction.
My Favourite Things: Weary casket, silver spoon and knickers (with a hole)
The exhibition juxtaposes information gathered from probate inventories preserved at the National Archives and the artifact collections of the National Museum in order to dive into the material world of people in the 18th and 19th centuries.
A guided tour through the exhibition Making of a Nation – Heritage and History in Iceland
Take a journey of Icelandic history from the settlement period through the 20th century. The National Museum of Iceland offers a guided tour every Saturdays, Sundays and Wednesdays at 10.30 am. Admission ticket is needed. Tickets and registration for the guided tour are available at the reception.
Light and play
A personal collection that depicts an individual‘s journey from childhood to adulthood and sheds light upon the multi-layered meaning of photography.
