Osvor Maritime Museum
A rebuilt turf fishing station outside Bolungarvik, shown by a guide in a fisherman's skin suit.
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Osvor is a reconstruction of the kind of fishing station that operated all round this coast before engines: a turf and stone hut where a crew slept, a salt store, a drying rack and a rowing boat of the local type. It was rebuilt on the original site outside Bolungarvik, which was one of the oldest fishing places in the Westfjords, worked because the fishing grounds are unusually close to shore here. The guide who shows visitors round is normally dressed in a skin suit of the sort crews wore, sewn from sheepskin and treated to keep water out, which conveys more about the work than any label.
What you actually see
- A rebuilt fishing station - hut, salt store, drying racks and boat.
- On the original site - one of the oldest fishing places in the Westfjords.
- A guide in a skin suit - the sewn sheepskin crews actually wore.
- Grounds close to shore - the reason fishing started here.
When to go
June to August, when it is staffed. An hour.
Honest expectations
It is open in summer only and closed otherwise, when you can look at the outside. The site is small - half an hour to an hour. The interior is cramped and low. There are no facilities beyond the car park.
Nearby
Bolungarvik and Bolafjall are north; Isafjordur is south through the tunnel.
What to pack for Osvor Maritime Museum
Chosen from what this place is for. Tap a kit for the full checklist.
Opening times, ticket prices and seasonal closures change - check the official source before you go: official site.
