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Longhouses

The oldest type of dwellings in Iceland were longhouses which had one or two doors near the gable on the front of the house. In the 11th century the longhouses expanded so that there were three main buildings: a kitchen, living quarters and a store room and the other buildings could only be entered via the kitchen. In 1939 the remains of this kind of house were found at Stöng in Þjórsárdalur. The farm was destroyed in the eruption of Hekla in 1104. The Saga Age figure Gaukur Trandilsson lived at Stöng. To commemorate the 1100th anniversary of the settlement of Iceland, a replica farm based on the farm at Stöng was built in Þjórsárdalur in 1974.

The traditional turf farm

The Icelandic turf house developed from the longhouse in the 14th century. As the name indicates, the main building material is turf. Timber was used to build a frame and also panelling inside, while turf was used to form the roof and walls. Sometimes rocks were used in the walls with turf and stone slabs were sometimes used in the roof. In the late 18th century a new style of turf housing emerged, known as burstabær, which had wooden gables.

Building material

The Icelandic turf farm evolved from the longhouse, which came with the first settlers to Iceland. The main building material was in fact soil, both in turf and stone walls. Soil was packed tightly between the rocks and served both as an insulator and supported the weight of the walls. This type of housing did not last long and farmhouses needed to be frequently rebuilt.

Turf farms in Southern Iceland

A number of well-preserved turf farms and two turf churches can be found in Southern Iceland, including Austur-Meðalholt in the Flói district, Keldur in the Rangárvellir district and the turf farm at the outdoor museum at Skógar. The two churches are the chapel at Núpsstaður and the church at Hof in the Öræfi district. Most of these buildings are under the care of the National Museum of Iceland or other museums. Farm buildings made of turf and rock can be found widely across Southern Iceland in varying states of repair, some still in use. Replica turf houses have been built at Skálholt and Herjólfsdalur on the island of Heimaey.

Skogar Museum
Skógar Museum was founded in 1949 and nowadays hosts a collection of more than 18,000 regional artifacts, exhibited in three different spaces. It is located 150 km east of Reykjavík, just off Ring Road 1, and 30 km west of Vík. The Museum was especially known for the curator Þórður Tómasson. Skógar Museum is divided into three parts: -The Folk Museum offers a huge variety of artifacts displayed on three floors: fishing, agriculture, textile, and natural history, as well as artifacts dating back to the Viking Age. -The Open Air Museum, where visitors can catch the atmosphere of times long gone and experience how Icelanders lived through the centuries in farms made from turf and stone.-The Technical Museum tells the story of technology and transportation and its development in Iceland in the 19th and 20th century. It also houses a souvenir shop and the Skógakaffi cafeteria. Guided tours are available upon reservation in English, German and Icelandic for groups of ten people or more. Sometimes there is the possibility to have guided tours in French, Spanish, Norwegian, and Danish.“ Skogar Museum is open 364 days of the yearJune - August: 09:00 - 18:00September - October: 10:00 – 17:00November – April: 10:00 – 16:00May: 10:00 – 17:00 Please visit us on Facebook herePlease visit us on Instagram here
Þuríðarbúð Folk Museum
Þuríðar´s cottage was rebuilt in 1949 in Stokkseyri but cottages such as this were numerous all along the coastline in the past. They were the shelters of the crews, where they lived, slept ant ate during the winter fishing season. Þuríðarbúð was erected in memory of Þuríður Einarsdóttir and old working procedures.Þuríður was a woman, born 1777 died 1863, who was captain in 50 years. Þuríðarbúð is always open for visitors and the entrance is free of charge.