For nearly a decade, a singular place in Reykjavík allowed visitors to explore the volatile heart of Iceland’s geology without ever leaving the city. Volcano House, established in 2011 by the Gunnarsson siblings and their families, filled the building at Tryggvagata 11 with stories and textures of the island’s most powerful forces until its closure in January 2020.
A hands-on encounter with Iceland’s geology
Volcano House set out to do more than display information about eruptions and earthquakes. The free geology exhibition provided glimpses not only of Iceland’s volcanic history but also its ever-shifting present. Visitors could feel the gritty ash that blanketed the country during eruptions, hold pieces of pumice from Hekla or Eyjafjallajökull, and examine minerals like jaspis, opal and obsidian. Even distinctive Iceland spar was available for handling, while semi-precious stones from locations across the country were curated and offered for sale.
The exhibit’s design captured the atmosphere of 1973, the year Heimaey in the Westman Islands experienced a devastating eruption. Period motifs invited guests to imagine the uncertainty and upheaval residents faced when volcanic activity reshaped the landscape and daily routines overnight. Throughout, a staff of geologists, geographers and seasoned tour guides ensured the information was as tangible as the stones themselves.
Volcanoes on screen, eruptions in daily life
Central to Volcano House’s approach was a cinema that bridged personal experience and national history. Every hour during its years of operation, the exhibition screened specially produced documentaries recounting two monumental Icelandic eruptions. One film explored the events at Eyjafjallajökull, whose 2010 eruption made global headlines as clouds of ash halted air traffic across Europe. The other took viewers back to the 1973 Heimaey eruption, a night when residents awoke to rumbling ground and fire on the horizon.
Before each 55-minute screening, a brief introduction placed these disasters in context, underlining how volcanoes and earthquakes form a constant, ordinary backdrop to Icelandic life rather than rare catastrophes. The documentaries were available in several languages, accommodating Reykjavík’s varied clientele and reflecting the country’s international connections. Showings adjusted with the seasons, offering German and French in summer, and other languages on request from September through May.
General manager Dóra Magnúsdóttir, a geographer with a quarter century in tourism, oversaw the exhibition during its run. The experience positioned Volcano House not only as a learning space but as a reminder of the unpredictability and resilience that define this island’s relationship with its elemental nature.
