Saga Centre

Njals saga is the longest and most admired of the Icelandic family sagas, a chain of lawsuits, killings and failed settlements ending in the burning of Njal and his household, and almost all of it takes place in the country around Hvolsvollur - the farms named in it are still farms. The Saga Centre sets out the story and the society behind it, with a hall laid out as a chieftain's and displays on law, weapons and daily life. Its distinctive project is a long embroidered tapestry retelling the saga in the Bayeux manner, stitched over years by thousands of visitors and volunteers a few stitches at a time.

What you actually see

• The saga in its own landscape - the farms it names are the ones outside.
• A chieftain's hall laid out - the setting for the story.
• A Bayeux-style tapestry - stitched by visitors over years.
• Law and feud explained - how the society in the saga worked.

When to go

June to August for full hours; reduced in winter. Two hours.

Honest expectations

The saga is long and the exhibition assumes some willingness to read - visitors who do not engage with the text find it dry. Hours are limited outside summer. It is a modest building beside the main road, not a grand museum.

Nearby

The Lava Centre is in the same village; Keldur and the saga farms are north.