Westfjords Heritage Museum
Regional museum of the Westfjords in the eighteenth-century timber warehouses of Neðstikaupstaður.
The Westfjords Heritage Museum occupies Neðstikaupstaður, the old trading post on the sandspit at Ísafjörður and the oldest surviving cluster of timber buildings in Iceland. Four Danish-era structures survive from the late eighteenth century: Tjöruhúsið of 1734, Krambúðin of 1761, Faktorshúsið, the factor's residence, and Turnhúsið of 1784, a former warehouse whose small tower gives it its name. The regional museum was founded in 1941 and moved into the restored Turnhús, where it opened on Seamen's Day in 1988.
Displays on three floors are given over largely to fishing and seafaring: tackle and ship models, tools from the years of Norwegian whaling in the fjords, navigational instruments and a large collection of historic photographs of life in the Westfjords. The museum also holds a well-known collection of accordions, a saltfish exhibition, preserved wooden fishing boats and the restored GJS machine workshop at Þingeyri. Temporary exhibitions change through the season, and the buildings themselves are protected monuments.
Highlights
- Neðstikaupstaður, Iceland's oldest group of timber buildings, from 1734 onwards
- Maritime collection of fishing gear, boats and whaling tools
- Historic photographs documenting life in the Westfjords
- Collection of accordions and a saltfish exhibition
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