Arbaer Open Air Museum

Arbaejarsafn opened in 1957 around the buildings of a farm that had stood at Arbaer since the middle ages, and the museum's method has been to move houses rather than build replicas: as central Reykjavik was rebuilt through the twentieth century, timber houses that would otherwise have been demolished were dismantled and re-erected here, so the site is now a street of around twenty buildings from different decades. There is a turf church, a farm range, workshops and dwellings furnished to their periods. In summer staff work in costume with animals and demonstrations; in winter only part of the site is open and most interiors are locked.

History

Around the middle of the 20th century there was growing concern that old Reykjavík was vanishing, and in 1942 the city council received a petition for a museum; in 1954 the Reykjavík Archives and Historical Collection were founded, with Lárus Sigurbjörnsson as director. The old farm of Árbær, long a rest stop and inn on the way to and from Reykjavík, had been abandoned and was decaying, and in 1957 the council agreed to make it a park and open-air museum of historic houses, then a short way outside the town; in 1968 it was merged with the Reykjavík Historical Museum (Wikipedia, Árbæjarsafn).

What to look for

• Houses moved, not copied - saved from demolition in the city centre.
• A turf church and farm range - the older core of the site.
• Interiors furnished by period - across a century of Reykjavik housing.
• Costumed work in summer - demonstrations and animals in season.

When to go

June to August for everything open; winter access is partial. Half a day.

Things to know

Outside summer many buildings are locked and the visit is much thinner. It is entirely outdoors between houses, so weather decides the experience. Some interiors are cramped. Getting there takes a bus ride or a drive from the centre.

Nearby

Ellidaardalur is next door; central Reykjavik is fifteen minutes west.

Key facts