Northwest Iceland’s rich history unfolds quietly at the Skagafjörður Folk Museum, located in the old settlement of Glaumbær. This open-air collection, founded in 1948, offers a rare glimpse into the rhythms and resourcefulness of earlier Icelandic households, not through grand monuments but through the daily artefacts and simple architecture once central to rural life.
The turf houses of Glaumbær
At the centre of the museum stands a complex of thirteen turf houses, last occupied in 1947. These interconnected buildings are among Iceland’s best-preserved examples of turf architecture, a traditional building method adapted to the lack of timber and abundance of grass and earth. Of these thirteen, six feature their gables facing the courtyard, a defining feature of the ensemble.
What sets the turf houses of Glaumbær apart among similar sites is their construction. Unlike elsewhere in Iceland, the walls here are made using very small stones, used sparingly, largely because such materials are rare in the surrounding landscape. Inside, collections of tools and domestic artefacts overlook a period when every object was made or mended by hand, revealing the skills developed by people adapting to the harsh Icelandic conditions.
Wandering wooden houses and local stories
The Glaumbær site is more than turf. Two wooden houses have made remarkable journeys before finding their final home here. Áshús is a timber dwelling originally built between 1884 and 1886 at Ás in Hegranes. It was intended as a women’s school for the region but was instead used as a residence for almost a century before moving to Glaumbær in 1991, where it now hosts exhibitions, storage, and a coffee shop.
Gilsstofa, the other notable wooden house, tells a story of itinerant Icelandic heritage. First constructed in Espihóll, Eyjafjörður in 1849, this building has survived repeated dismantlings and relocations: from Akureyri, by boat to Kolkuós, then to Hjaltastaðir in Blönduhlíð, Reynistaður, Gil in Borgarsveit, and finally Sauðárkrókur, before being moved in 1996 to its current spot. After so many moves, much of Gilsstofa’s original timber was lost, but it has been reconstructed to echo its earliest form. Now, it houses the museum’s shop and offices.
The museum’s ambition is wider than its home at Glaumbær. Since 1998, it has housed artefacts from Sauðárkrókur, setting up permanent and special exhibitions across Skagafjörður, including in historic locations at Hólar and Hofsós. In this way, the museum acts as a catalyst for exploring regional culture, illuminating the resourcefulness and tenacity of Icelandic communities and the buildings that sheltered them.
Sources
- Wikipedia
- Wikipedia (Icelandic) in Icelandic
