MUSEUMS & GALLERIES

Akureyri Art Museum

For such a small town, Akureyri has an abundance of entertaining and engaging museums. Whether you’re interested in modern art, personal history, industrial history, folk art, or literature, Akureyri’s museums have something for everyone.

AKUREYRI ART MUSEUM

Akureyri Art Museum is situated in the town centre; in Listagil (Art Street). It aims to promote visual arts and culture in the local community as well as in a wider global context.

The museum hosts diverse art exhibitions showcasing the works of artists, young and old, Icelandic and international, featuring everything from illustrations and photography to performance art and installations. The two former factory buildings that make up Akureyri Art Museum have been joined through a connecting annexe.

The top floors house elegant galleries offering diverse and exciting exhibitions, and the entrance allows access for the disabled, as well as a gift shop and a café.

Kaupvangsstræti 8-12, Akureyri +354 461 2610 | www.listak.is Entrance fee: 1,900 ISK Senior citizens and students: 950 ISK Free admission for children under 18 years, disabled people and members of FÍSOS, SÍM, ICOM, and the Gil society.

AKUREYRI MUSEUM

LOCAL HISTORY AND FAMILY-FRIENDLY EXHIBITIONS MUSEUMS & GALLERIES

The museum is in the oldest part of town, known locally as Innbærinn. It’s surrounded by a beautiful garden featuring a 19thcentury church, with Nonni’s House and the Akureyri Toy Museum just a few steps away. Modern and family-friendly exhibitions with information and entertainment for visitors of all ages, giving an insight into the local community’s past and present through relics and photographs. Akureyri Museum is nominated for the Icelandic Museum Award.

CURRENT EXHIBITIONS:

Akureyri – The Town by the Bay A permanent exhibition that provides insight into life in Akureyri, the merchant town and the capital of the north.

The Music Town Akureyri The town’s musical past is brought to life with records, posters, and soundbites from history.

Out of the shadows The intriguing works of Danish women photographers in the 19th century. Antique Icelandic Maps – A love story The image of Iceland has shifted throughout the centuries.

Yule lads Annual Christmas exhibition celebrating the 13 mischievous Christmas trolls that bring presents to well-behaved children in December.

The Little Cornershop Kids and adults alike delight in visiting the immersive mid-century cornershop display.

Aðalstræti 58, Akureyri Old Town +354 462 4162 | www.minjasafnid.is

Open: June-Sep | Daily 11am-5pm Oct-May | Daily 1pm-4pm

Free bus: no. 5 & 6. On foot: 20 minutes from the town centre, 10 minutes from Botanical Garden. Adults (18+): 2,000 ISK

Groups (10+): 1,700 ISK

Children 0-17: free admission

A ticket to the museum provides admission to the Akureyri Museum, Nonni’s House, The Akureyri Toy Museum, David‘s house, and Laufás heritage site.

NONNI’S HOUSE

A SMALL HOUSE WITH A BIG STORY

Nonni’s House is one of Akureyri’s oldest, built in the 1840s. It contains an exhibition dedicated to children’s writer Jón Sveinsson. Better known as Nonni, he left the shores of Akureyri at the age of 12 in 1869 to become a Jesuit priest. Years later, he wrote enormously popular children’s books based on his childhood in Akureyri and his adventures with his younger brother. They were published in over forty countries - perhaps even in your language.

Aðalstræti 54, Akureyri Old Town +354 462 4162 www.minjasafnid.is | www.nonni.is

Open: Jun-Sep | Daily 11am-5pm Oct-May | Daily 1pm-4pm Adults (18+): 2,000 ISK

Groups (10+): 1,700 ISK

Children 0-17: free admission

THE BELOVED ROMANTIC POET

In the green hills of Akureyri is a house with the exciting history and unique atmosphere of the 1960s. Constructed in 1944 by one of Iceland’s most loved poets and writers, Davíð Stefánsson, Davíð’s House was the poet’s home until his death in 1964. Born on a farm outside Akureyri, Davíð spent most of his life in Akureyri, working as a librarian and writing some of Iceland’s best-loved poems. He was one of the 20th century’s most famous poets, liked the finer things in life, and was an enthusiastic collector of art and books. His apartment is a testament to his taste, full of books, art and other personal articles, just as he left it in 1964.

Bjarkarstígur 6, Akureyri +354 462 4162 | www.minjasafnid.is

Open: June 1-Aug 31: Open for guided tours at 1 pm, 2 pm and 3 pm only – book at www.minjasafnid.is or by phone.

A 5-minute walk from the Municipal Library. 10-minute walk from the town centre.

AKUREYRI TOY MUSEUM

CHILDHOOD MEMORIES

Small, like a dollhouse, this early 19th-century building is filled with toys from the 20th century, some over a hundred years old. Take a nostalgiafilled stroll through your childhood’s toy store, with dozens of dolls and toy cars, cardboard games, muppets, and action figures. While the exhibition showcases strictly retired playthings, there’s also a playroom where the younger generation can play with toys in active use.

Friðbjarnarhús house was owned by the Independent Order of Good Templars, who formed the first lodge in 1884. On the upper floor is their old meeting room.

Aðalstræti 46, Akureyri +354 462 4162 www.minjasafnid.is

Open: Jun-Aug | Daily 11am-5pm Adults (18+): 2,000 ISK

Groups (10+): 1,700 ISK

Children 0-17: free admission

A ticket to the museum provides admission to the Akureyri Museum, Nonni’s House, The Akureyri Toy Museum, David‘s house, and Laufás heritage site.

Adults (18+): 2,000 ISK

Groups (10+): 1,700 ISK

Children 0-17: free admission

LAUFÁS HERITAGE SITE

STEP INTO THE 19TH CENTURY

Laufás is a breathtaking farmstead surrounded by mountains and a picturesque view of the fjord with history at each footstep. Inhabited since the settlement of Iceland (874-930), it has been a church site since early Christianity in Iceland with a constant lineage of priests and ministers from 1047 to the current day.

The heritage site contains a 19th-century timber church and a vicarage. It is a maze of interconnected rooms, one of which is a unique bridal room from 1733. The building has been constantly rebuilt over the centuries. The current version was rebuilt in an ambitious style between 1853 and 1882 and is an example of the gabled turf/sod farmhouse, although significantly larger than the ordinary houses of the time.

The last minister moved out of the building with his family in 1936, and the last inhabitant moved out in 1966. The church was built in 1865 and among its treasures is a pulpit from 1698 with marvellous carvings.

Laufás Visitor Centre offers additional information about nature, wildlife, and the history of the area, as well as a souvenir shop and refreshments. Icelandic ponies visit every Sunday 14-16.

Grýtubakkahreppur, Akureyri +354 463 3196/895 3172 www.minjasafnid.is Open: May-Sep | Daily 11am-5pm In winter, open by prebooking. Adults (18+): 2,000 ISK

Groups (10+): 1,700 ISK

Children 0-17: free admission

The Icelandic Aviation Museum is dedicated to aviation in Iceland, its history and development, from the first fumbling attempts at commercial aviation in 1919 to the mid- and late 20th century airlines, some of which still operate, to the history of medical transport and the Icelandic Coast Guard. The aviation history is covered with photographs, artefacts, models and historic aircraft, including airplanes and helicopters, which some are in airworthy condition and fly in the annual air show held by the museum in June every year. Visitors are allowed to access the interior of a few of the aircraft.

Akureyri Airport +354 4614400 / 8440104 www.flugsafn.is Open: Mid-May – Mid-Sep : Daily 11-17 Mid-Sep - Mid-May: Sat 13-16 and by appointment

AKUREYRI INDUSTRIAL MUSEUM

The Akureyri Industrial Museum houses artefacts connected from industry of ages past, from margarine makers, printing presses and lathes, to sewing machines and watchmaker instruments.

The museum hosts a great number of tools from the “old factories,” which used to produce some of the most familiar Icelandic brands of food and household products. On the top floor of the museum, there is a display of the clothes and shoes produced in Akureyri in the past century, which every Icelander over a certain age is very familiar with.

Krókeyri, Akureyri +354 462 3600/897 0206 www.idnadarsafnid.is Open: Jun-August | Daily 10-17 Sep-May | Fri-Sun 10-17

THE ICELANDIC MOTORCYCLE MUSEUM

The Icelandic Motorcycle Museum documents the 100-year history of the motorcycle in Iceland in an 800m2 building specifically built for the purpose. Its origin can be traced to the tragic death of Heiðar Þ. Jónsson in 2007, who left behind him his vast collection of bikes and assorted motorbike accessories. The museum details the history of the motorcycle through important bikes and stories of colourful characters and is a must-visit location for all motorbike enthusiasts.

THE MUNICIPAL LIBRARY

FLÓRA CULTURE HOUSE

Amtsbókasafn, the Municipal Library of Akureyri, is one of the biggest libraries in Iceland. It is housed in a beautiful building and offers all regular library services such as lending out books, movies, CDs, audiobooks and such, as well as offering free Wi-Fi and access to computers for a mild fee. You can also read all Icelandic newspapers and the latest copies of more than seventy international and domestic magazines onsite. In the same building, you will find the Orðakaffi café, which serves an Italian lunch, coffee and cakes.

Located in the city centre, but in a green oasis, the Flóra Culture House works in the spirit of its predecessors, Guðrún Runólfsdóttir and Matthías Jochumsson (one of Iceland’s larger cultural figures: poet, priest, and social reformer). Flóra operates studios/workspaces on the second floor. The main floor and the terrasse are open for everyone to connect to the heritage of the place and at the same time experience fresh stuff in the art scene, through exhibitions and happenings. We sell items and works for local artists, designers and farmers and run a coffee bar with farmers’ ice cream. The entrance is located at the center of the church steps.

Akureyri

Brekkugata 17, Akureyri +354 460 1250 www.akureyri.is/amtsbokasafn

Open: Mid-May-Mid-Sep | Mon-Fri 8:15-19 Mid-Sep-Mid-May | Mon-Fri 8:15-19, Sat 11-16

Hafnarstræti 90, Akureyri +354 661 0168 www.flora.is

Þrívídd / Three Dimensional / Nói (Jóhann Ingimarsson) Tilvera / Being Here / Steinunn Þórarinsdóttir MUSEUMS & GALLERIES

AKUREYRI ART TRAIL

There is no containing the creative spirit of the Icelanders in a museum or a gallery. All over Akureyri is a wide variety of open-air artworks by some of our most revered artists, such as Ásmundur Sveinsson, Einar Jónsson, Elísabet Sigríður Geirmundsdóttir, Nói, Kristinn E. Hrafnsson, Nína S mundsson, Ragnar Kjartansson, Ríkharður Jónsson and Steinunn Þórarinsdóttir, to name just a very few.

When you stay in Akureyri, pick up the Akureyri Art Trail map, which divides the city into six accessible walking tours around these not-so-hidden treasures. The more notable pieces include Outlaws by sculpture pioneer Einar Jónsson (1900) close to the Botanical Garden, The Harp of Prayer by Ásmundur Sveinsson (1965) in a park not far from the Akureyri swimming pool, the Pearl and Ode to the Night, both made by Elísabet Geirmundsdóttir in 1951, and both situated in the old town, and many other important pieces of art.

OTHER MUSEUMS & GALLERIES

IN AKUREYRI The Public Park and Botanical Garden Eyrarlandsvegur, Akureyri www.lystigardur.akureyri.is

Hof Cultural and Conference Centre Strandgötu 12, Akureyri +354 450 1000 | www.mak.is

JUST OUTSIDE OF AKUREYRI Hælið-Plaque Centre Kristnes,Akureyri +354 863 6428 | www.haelid.is

The Icelandic Folk and Outsider Art Museum Svalbarðsströnd, Akureyri +354 461 4066 | www.safnasafnid.is

The Christmas Garden Akureyri | +354 463 1433

The Sundry Collection Sólgarður, Akureyri +354 463 1261 | www.smamunasafnid.is

IN NEIGHBOURING TOWNS Grenivík Fishing Museum +354 698 5610

The Herring Era Museum Snorragata 10, Siglufjörður +354 467 1604 | www.sild.is

The Folk Music Centre Norðurgata 1, Siglufjörður +354 467 2300 | www.folkmusik.is Museum of Natural History Aðalgata 14, Ólafsfjörður +354 464 9200 | www.fjallabyggd.is

Hvoll-Local Folk Museum Karlsrauðatorg, Dalvík +354 460 4928 / 892 1497 | dalvik.is/byggdasafn

Berg Cultural House Goðabraut, Dalvík +354 460 4000 | dalvikurbyggd.is/menningarhus

The House of Shark Jörundur Hrísey | +354 695 0077 | www.hrisey.is

Holt-Memorial Museum of Alda Halldórsdóttir Hrísey | +354 695 0077 | www.hrisey.is

Húsavík Museum House Stóragarði 17, Húsavík | +354 464 1860 | husmus.is

Grenjaðarstaður, Old Farmhouse Grenjaðarstað, Húsavík +354 464 3688 | www.husmus.is

Húsavík Whale Museum Hafnarstétt 1, Húsavík +354 414 2800 | www.whalemuseum.is

Sigurgeir’s Bird Museum Ytri-Neslönd, Mývatn +354 464 4477 | www.fuglasafn.is

Gljúfrastofa Ásbyrgi Canyon | +354 470 7100