Skogar Folk Museum

The museum at Skogar began as one man's collection and grew into three parts: an open-air row of turf-roofed farm buildings and a small timber church, moved here and rebuilt; a hall of household, farming and fishing objects; and a transport building of old vehicles, telephone equipment and the machinery that opened up the south. The turf houses are the reason to come. You can go inside, see how a kitchen worked with smoke and stone, and understand what a treeless landscape actually demanded of people. It stands directly beside the Skogafoss car park.

History

The museum opened on 1 December 1949 in the classrooms of the Skógar regional school, on the initiative of Þórður Tómasson, who went on to curate it until he retired in 2013 at the age of 92. In 1952 a businessman from Suður-Vík gave it the eight-oared fishing boat Pétursey, and in 1955 it got its first building of its own. The open-air part began in 1968, when a storehouse built around 1840 by Þórður's great-grandfather was moved here and rebuilt; every old building on the site has since been brought from the two local counties, Rangárvallasýsla and West Skaftafellssýsla. The transport museum opened on 20 July 2002. Today the collection holds some 18,000 objects in three museums and six historic buildings (Skógar Museum).

What's there

• The turf farm buildings - connected rooms with grass roofs that you can walk into.
• The timber church - a small rebuilt church with a painted interior and old fittings.
• The fishing boat - an old open boat of the kind rowed off this harbourless coast.
• The transport hall - vehicles, telephones and road machinery from the last century.

When to go

Late spring to early autumn gives the longest opening hours; the museum stays open in winter but on a short schedule. A wet afternoon is a good use for it, since most of the visit is under a roof. It pairs naturally with Skogafoss, which is a two-minute walk from the door.

Before you go

The displays are dense and old-fashioned, with cases packed full and modest labelling, which suits some visitors and loses others. It is charged while the waterfall next door is free, so many people drive straight past. The turf interiors are low, dark and cramped. Coach groups arrive in blocks and fill the small rooms at once.

Nearby

Skogafoss is next door, and Seljalandsfoss and Vik lie either side along the ring road.

Key facts