The Rescuer
An exhibition about a fortunate rescue from the Ölfusá River
The exhibition The Rescuer opens at the Árnesinga Heritage Museum on Saturday, 28 March at 14:00.
It tells the story of the dramatic rescue of mr. Jón Ingibergur Guðmundsson (1923–2001) on 6 September 1944, when two trucks belonging to the Árnesinga Cooperative plunged off the Ölfusá Bridge at Selfoss. The bridge collapsed under their weight, the trucks fell into the river, and mr. Guðmundsson narrowly escaped with his life. He managed to grab hold of a spare tire that floated with him down the river and ultimately saved him. The tire—the rescuer itself—has been preserved and is the exhibition’s central artefact. The event left a deep mark on the region’s transport history and has lived on in local memory and material remains.
The exhibition is housed in Kirkjubær, the small timber building west of Húsið in Eyrarbakki, and will be on view throughout Easter and into the summer.
The museum will be open during and around Easter from 28 March to 6 April, 13:00–17:00. Admission is free on the exhibition’s opening day. Welcome!