Akranes Museum Centre

About

The Akranes Folk Museum (Icelandic: Byggðasafnið í Görðum Akranesi [ˈpɪɣðaˌsapnɪð i ˈkœrðʏm ˈaːkraˌnɛːsɪ]), formerly known as the Akranes Museum Centre (Safnasvæðið á Akranesi [ˈsapnaˌsvaiːðɪð au ˈaːkraˌnɛːsɪ]), consists of a folk museum, an exhibition hall and a few 19th century buildings and boats in Garðar, Akranes, Iceland. The museum houses a few exhibitions, as well as a large open-air museum, which consists mainly of houses and boats, including the old Garðar house and the 86-tonne ketch Sigurfari (Kútter Sigurfari). The main purpose of the Akranes Folk Museum is to collect, register, preserve, research and display artefacts and other objects of cultural and historical value for the Akranes area and Iceland. The Akranes Folk Museum is located at Garðar in Akranes, near the town's cemetery. It is easily accessible from Reykjavík via car or bus route 57.

History: The history of the Akranes Folk Museum dates back to 1959, when the museum was founded. Ten years prior, local pastor Jón M. Guðjónsson had started collecting artefacts from the Akranes area. By the time the museum was opened he had already collected between 1500 and 2000 artefacts. Originally located in the old Garðar...