MUSEUMS IN REYKJAVÍK
1. Listasafn Íslands National Gallery
A core collection of works by seminal Icelandic artists such as Ásgrímur Jónsson contrasts with avant-garde installations by the likes of Krístján Guðmundsson and Hrafnkell Sigurðsson. The gallery (see Listasafn Íslands (National Gallery)) also showcases works by big names, including Picasso and Munch. It is one of the main venues for the annual Reykjavík Arts Festival in June.
2. Þjóðminjasafn Íslands National Museum
An exploration of Iceland’s history and culture, the permanent exhibition – Making of a Nation – shows how the country took shape. Viking graves, medieval church sculptures and 19th-century clothing, as well as modern-day objects are on display. There are also regular temporary exhibitions (see Þjóðminjasafn Íslands (National Museum)).
Þjóðminjasafn Íslands
3. Reykjavík Art Museum
Hafnarhús, Tryggvagata 17 • 411 6400 • Open 10am–5pm Fri–Wed, 10am–10pm Thu • Adm (under-18s free); Jun–Aug: free guided tours once a week • www.artmuseum.is
The contemporary branch of the museum’s three sites is located by the harbour. As well as hosting a diverse programme of exhibitions, it also houses a collection of paintings by Icelandic artist Erró, born in 1932. Another branch focuses on the work of Jóhannes Kjarval (see Kjarvalsstaðir (Reykjavík Art Museum)), and the third centres on Ásmundur Sveinsson.
4. Landnámssýningin Settlement Exhibition
The centrepiece to this excellent subterranean museum (see Landnámssýningin (Settlement Exhibition)) is the oval foundation wall of a Viking longhouse, with a distinctive underlying layer of volcanic ash, dated AD 871. Holographic dioramas and artifacts, including wooden farm implements and corroded axes, bring it all to life. Look for sacrificial cow bones among the foundations.
5. The Einar Jónsson Sculpture Museum
Einar Jónsson’s pieces owe a good deal to the early 20th-century national-ist movements across Europe, with heroic figures in dramatic, iconic arrangements (see The Einar Jónsson Sculpture Museum). One of the favourites is St George resting on his sword, holding his shield aloft, with the dragon coiling behind.
Sculpture by Einar Jónsson
6. Sigurjón Ólafsson Sculpture Museum
Located along the foreshore, this gallery (see Sigurjón Ólafsson Sculpture Museum) was founded by the artist’s widow. It displays Sigurjón’s modernist, abstract works in timber, stone and metal, ranging from smoothly contoured sculptures to giant installations looking like totem poles made out of scrap iron and driftwood.
A stone sculpture by Sigurjón Ólafsson
7. The Saga Museum
Grandagardi 2 • 511 1517 • Open 10am–6pm daily • Adm • www.sagamuseum.is
This hugely enjoyable museum features characters from the Icelandic sagas, including larger-than-life Vikings such as the violent but gifted Egil Skallagrímsson, Leif Eiríksson, discoverer of America, and the ill-fated poet, politician and saga author Snorri Sturluson. There is realistic detail in the clothing and period buildings, as well as the vivid Viking-age noises and smells.
8. Reykjavík Maritime Museum
Grandagarður 8, 101 Reykjavík • 411 6340 • Open 10am–5pm daily • Adm • www.maritimemuseum.is
This museum at Reykjavík’s old harbour tries to convey a flavour of life on the ocean. Pick of the exhibits is the magnificent Óðinn, a coastguard vessel docked at the museum’s pier.
Óðinn, Reykjavík Maritime Museum
9. Árbæjarsafn
Kistuhyl 4, Árbær • 411 6300 • Bus 12, 19 or 24 from Hlemmur & Lækjartorg • Open Jun–Aug: 10am–5pm daily; Sep–May: 1–5pm daily; guided tours in English at 1pm • Adm • www.reykjavikcitymuseum.is
A former farm has been converted into an open-air museum of old buildings, farm machinery and period artifacts. The best permanent exhibit is the turf-roofed timber house from the late 19th century. Regular events, when the machinery is fired up and domestic animals wander around, bring the place to life.
A kitchen, Árbæjarsafn
10. Ásmundur Sveinsson Sculpture Museum
Part of the Reykjavík Art Museum, this building is an attraction in itself (see Ásmundur Sveinsson Sculpture Museu). The real pleasure is walking around the sculpture garden outside, which is full of Ásmundur’s depictions of themes from history and folklore, both his early figurative works and his later abstract pieces. Inside are smaller pieces in a variety of media.
