Historic Buildings Collection

A large turf farmhouse of the North-Icelandic type. This type of turf house emerged in the 19th century and is distinguished by the forward-facing gables of all the front buildings, but with all rear buildings arranged at right-angles. Glaumbær has been part of the National Museum Historic Buildings Collection since 1947. The Skagafjordur Heritage Museum has exhibited in the old farmhouse since 1952. There you can find information about admission fee and opening hours. 

At Reynistaður in Skagafjörður fjord an entrance hall is all that remains of the large farm that Þóra Björnsdóttir had built after a great fire in 1758. This building is one of the few existing examples of a timber frame from the 18th century.

In this group of large Scandinavian The turf farm At Gremjastaður is a large Scandinavian turf farm.  The area was once one of the wealthiest in the country. In its current form the farm was mostly built in the last part of the 19th century and its walls are mainly lava stone from the area. 

Eyrarbakki was a merchant port in 1602 and had a very busy store there from the latter part of the 18th century until the 20th century. Húsið was built in 1765 and also housed the shop manager and other staff of the Eyrarbakki store. Open daily from May 1st - September 30 from 11 - 18.

The turf farm at Laufás is a good example of the buildings surrounding a wealthier priest‘s seat from the latter half of the 19th century, but it has a continuous history dating back to the Middle Ages. Most of the relics at the site now are from neighbouring farms, though some are from Laufás. The Akureyri Museum oversees operations at the farm. Open from June 1st - September 30 from 11:00-17:00.

Litlibær was built in 1895 by two families who originally lived in separate parts of the house, which was then divided in the middle with a wall. The house is made of timber with stone side walls and grass on the roof. Around 20 people lived in Litlibær at one point. From the year 1917 only one family lived on the farm. Litlibær was inhabited until 1969.

Reykholtskirkja church was built from 1886-1887 by Ingólfur Guðmundsson. The design of the church may have been strongly influenced by the Dómkirkja cathedral in Reykjavík.

It is believed that there was a church at Sauðanes since the 12th century. The priest‘s residence at Sauðanes (Sauðanes House) was built in 1879 and Sauðaneskirkja church in 1889. The old priest‘s house is the oldest stone house in Þingeyjarsýsla district and was made from stone brought from far away but cut on site.

The river Jökulsá á Fjöllum was a great hindrance in past centuries. It was not considered possible to cross on horseback, but there were ferries in places where traffic was highest. The refuge was built around 1880 from stone. The house was said to be haunted by an animals the size of a year old calf, with thick fur and terrible. 

Sjávarborgarkirkja church stands on Borg, a rocky headland a short distance from Sauðárkrókur, which rises high above the surrounding flatlands. There was a church there at least from the 14th century. The church is made from timber, built by Ólafur Guðmundsson of Húsey in 1853. The house originally stood just north of the old turf farm.

Selið is a small turf farm of a southern type, built by Þorsteinn Guðmundsson farmer in 1912 and is a fine example of farms as they used to be in that area until the 1930s. 

About 8 kilometers from Reykhólar on the Reykjanes peninsula in East Barðastrandarsýsla district is the church Staðarkirkja. 

The stone house at Sómastaðir was built of local rock in 1875, using glacial clay, smiðjumór, for mortar.  Open June 1st - August 31st, Tuesdays and Thursdays from 3 - 5 PM.

At Víðimýri in the Age of the Sturlungs was the ancient manor of chieftain Kolbeinn Tumason. It is said that there has been a church at Víðimýri since Christianity was adopted in Iceland. Víðimýrarkirkja has always been a farmer‘s church, in the ownership of priests or farmers, and is now a parish church.  Open daily except Mondays from 12 - 6 pm. Open from June 1st - August 31st.

This classically-influenced wooden house was built in 1860 by Sumarliði Sumarliðason, goldsmith. It was originally built adjacent to an older timber house dating from around 1800. 

At Tungufell in Hrunamannahreppur district there is a wooden church in the older style, towerless, characterised by low walls and windows aligned with the edge the roof. It was built in 1856 by Sigfús Guðmundsson, master carpenter who also built Hrunakirkja church and the old parish church in Skálholt.

By Tjörn in Svarfaðardalur valley there is a large farm and church. Here there was a vicarage until 1917. On the slope directly above there is the minor farm Gullbringa, which was built in the 18th century. A small house, which was built in front of the old farm, still stands and this is where the painter Arngrímur Gíslason (1829-87) lived his last years with his second wife and children. Open daily from 8 am - 6 PM. Please take care of House and surroundings when visiting.

In the Westfjords there are large areas of excellent massive stones which were widely used for making the stone walls of turf houses.  Drying shack is a good example of this. It is one of the largest and best houses of its kind in the country, and is thought to have been built around 1880. Open daily from 8 - 18.

Nýibær is an example of a medium-large turf farm in the Scandinavian style. This type of turf farm came about in the 19th century and is characterized by roof eaves which extend over the sides of the house while the back of the house is perpendicular to the main tunnels. Nýibær was built in 1860.

The old church in Krýsuvík was destroyed by fire on the night of January 2, 2010. The church was reconstructed through the efforts of the Vocational School in Hafnarfjörður, providing an opportunity to teach traditional timber construction techniques. 

The warehouse at Hofsós is among the oldest ones of its kind in Iceland. It is a log house with a high black-tarred roof. The building is thought to have been erected in 1777. There is a storage space in the loft of the second floor with doors through which goods were moved into and out of the house.  For further information visit Hofsos.is.

At Bustarfell there is a large, elegant turf farm which has been in the care of the National Museum since 1943. It houses the Bustarfell museum where old artifacts from the farm and from the family who lived there are exhibited. It is believed that the old farm at Bustarfell was founded in 1770.

At Galtastaðir there is a turf farm from the 19th century.  The baðstofa in the attic was built over the cattle-shed in order to make use of the heat of the cows to heat up the house. This arrangement is called fjósbaðstofa.

Grafarkirkja is a small chapel built by Gísli Þorláksson, bishop of Hólar in the late 17th century. The church is believed to be the work of a well-known wood carver of the time, Guðmundur Guðmundsson, whose baroque carvings can be seen on the altar and verge boards.

The oldest record of a church in Hof is from 1343 when it was a rural church, dedicated to Saint Klemens. Later it was an outer church of Sandfell. The church which stands now was built from 1883-85 by Páll Pálsson, master carpenter from Hörgsdalur valley. Now the church has a wooden frame bound together, with long stone walls and a flat turf roof. The Church is closed to visitors.

A short distance above Hvammstangi you will find Kirkjuhvammur church. The soil at Kirkjuhvammur on Vatnsnes peninsula, which in older times was called Hvammur in Miðfjörður fjord, was considered very good earth but there were no major farms here. Kirkjuhvammur was an assembly place in 1406. Farming stopped in 1947 and the houses collapsed to the ground around 1960. The church is the only building from former times still on site.

Belfry (Klukknaportið) at Möðruvellir is thought to have been built in 1780. It is the only one of its kind to have survived from older times but such ports were common by churches in earlier centuries. Three clocks hang in the port, the oldest of which is from 1769, the second is from 1799 and the youngest is from 1867.

Nesstofa is the first residence of the Icelandic Director of Public Health, made from stone in 1761-1767. There was a public dispensary in Nesstofa from 1772, as well as working midwives. The building became private property when the two official posts were moved to Reykjavík around 1830. Nesstofa is now managed by the Medical  History Museum of Iceland.

Saurbæjarkirkja is one of the few turf churches that have been preserved and it is the largest among them.

The only preserved wooden wind-powered grain mill in the country can be found in Vigur. It is said that Daníel Hjaltason goldsmith built the mill around 1860, but it has since been enlarged and improved.

Þverá is a farm and church site in Laxárdalur, South-Þingeyjarsýsla. The turf farm is of the northern Icelandic type, with the prow facing the road and the backhouses perpendicular to the main buildings. Several outbuildings are still standing, many of them in good condition. The turf farm is currently undergoing repairs and is closed to the public.

The old house at Teigarhorn was constructed around 1880 for Niels Peder Weywadt (1814-1883), the manager of Örum & Wulff's store in Djúpavogur. The dormer with flat columns in the Neoclassical style gives a strong character to the house. Work is currently being done on the building, so it is closed.

Hraunskirkja, a church made of timber, was constructed in 1885. Hraunskirkja is one of the oldest architectural styles among Icelandic non-towered timber churches. 

The prayer house at Núpsstaður is a turf house, thought to have been built around the mid-19th century after extensive modifications to an older building.