Reyk­javík City Mu­seum
Our His­tory

Reykjavík Museum of Photography

We welcome you to the exhibition "Lament for a Horse", which is now on show at the Reykjavík Museum of Photography.

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Árbær Open Air Museum

Growing Pains is an experiential exhibition emphasizing creativity, education, imagination, and playfulness. Visitors get an insight into the world of primary school children in Reykjavík between 1898 and 1974.

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Due to ongoing construction on Viðey's pier, the island will be temporarily closed. The gangway is being upgraded to improve visitor access. We'll update you and let you know as soon as the island reopens.

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Our locations

Events

Viðburðir
The Settlement Exhibition

The Settlement Exhibition Aðalstræti - Guided tour

Reyk­javík’s his­tory in a nut­shell. At Aðalstræti 10 and 16 in Reykjavík’s city centre, you can explore how the city developed from Iceland’s settlement period to the present day. Stretching underground from Aðalstræti 16 – which houses the archaeological remains of a 10th-century Viking longhouse – to the central Kvosin area’s oldest remaining building at Aðalstræti 10, this historical exhibition traces Reykjavík’s development from a farm to a city.

The Settlement Exhibition Aðalstræti - Guided tour
Fræðsla
Árbær open museum

Guided tour at Árbær Open Air Museum

The guide takes guests to all the main houses of the museum and tells their story.

Guided tour at Árbær Open Air Museum
Viðburðir
Reykjavík Maritime Museum

The Coast Guard Vessel Óðinn - guided tour on board

We offer daily guided tours on board the Coast Guard vessel Óðinn from March to November, focusing on the Cod Wars and the vessel's rescue history. Welcome on board!

The Coast Guard Vessel Óðinn - guided tour on board
Smiðja
The Settlement Exhibition

Settlement Workshop for children / Free participation!

Join us from 21 to 22 September for a fun and free crafting settlement workshop for children and their families.

Settlement Workshop for children / Free participation!
Varðveisluhús
Árbær Open Air Museum

Next stop: Reykjavík City's Preservation Building

On Saturday, September 21, you can visit the museum's preservation buildings at Esjumelar, which houses the museum's biggest artefacts, just outside Reykjavík. A bus will depart from Árbær Open Air Museum at 13:00.

Next stop: Reykjavík City's Preservation Building
Árbæjarsafn
The Settlement Exhibition

Guided tour in Polish

Reykjavík City Museum is offering a guided tour in Polish on Sunday, September 22, at 14:30 in Aðalstræti. Marta Wieczorek, assistant principal of the Polish School in Reykjavík, will lead the tour.

Guided tour in Polish
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Ex­hib­i­tions

Eva Ágústa Aradótt­ir│Queer and Autistic
Reykjavík Museum of Photography
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Eva Ágústa│Queer and Aut­istic

"Queer and Aut­ist­ic" is the title of an ex­hib­i­tion by Eva Ágúst­a Aradót­tir in ex­hib­i­tion space Skotið.

Celebrating the New Republic 1944. Photo: Sigurhans Vignir
Árbær Open Air Museum

Cel­eb­rat­ing the New Re­pub­lic 1944

Cur­rently on view in the mu­seum build­ing "Læk­jar­gata 4-6" - an ex­hib­i­tion on the oc­ca­sion that this year marks 80 years since Icelanders foun­ded a re­pub­lic and se­ceded from the union with Den­mark.

Hlynur Pálma­son│Lament for a horse
Reykjavík Museum of Photography
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Hlynur Pálma­son│Lament for a horse

The photo series "La­ment for a horse" by artist and film­maker Hlynur Pál­ma­son, sheds visual and graphic light on the de­cay­ing pro­cess of a horse in Iceland's nature.

Growing Pains
Árbær Open Air Museum

Grow­ing Pains

The ex­per­i­mental ex­hib­i­tion "Grow­ing Pains" gives you an in­sight into the world of primary school chil­dren in Reyk­javík between 1898 and 1974.

Heimir Freyr Hlöðversson│We are Earth – We are Water
Reykjavík Maritime Museum
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Heimir Freyr Hlöðversson│We are Earth – We are Wa­ter

In the video work, We are Earth – We are Wa­ter, we get an un­usual in­sight into sub­lime forms in nature, a po­etic view of the mi­cro in the mac­ro, which is en­abled by tech­no­lo­gical in­nov­a­tions.

Fish & folk – 150 years of fisheries
Reykjavík Maritime Museum

Fish & folk – 150 years of fish­er­ies

The ex­hib­i­tion Fish & folk – 150 years of fish­er­ies at the Reyk­javík Mari­time Mu­seum is about the his­tory of the Icelandic fish­er­ies, from the time when row­ing boats gave way to large fish­ing ves­sels in the late 19th cen­tury, through to the 21st cen­tury.

Milestones by Richard Serra, 1991.
Viðey Island

Mile­stone­s│Richard Serra

For the Reyk­javík Arts Fest­ival of 1990, a work of art by US sculp­tor Richard Serra was crea­ted on West is­land.

The Imagine Peace Tower
Viðey Island

The Ima­gine Peace Tower

Work of art concei­ved by the leg­end­ary art­ist, mu­si­cian and peace ad­voc­ate Yoko Ono as a beacon for world peace.

Consumption – Reykjavík in the 20th century
Árbær Open Air Museum

Con­sump­tion – Reyk­javík in the 20th cen­tury

The ex­hib­i­tion aims to show the huge and rapid changes that took place in con­sump­tion pat­terns in Reyk­javík dur­ing the 20th cen­tury – to ex­plore the factors that af­fected con­sump­tion, and how tech­nical ad­vances, gov­ern­ment ac­tions, wars, and events in Ice­land and abroad in­flu­enced the daily life of the people of Reyk­javík.

The Wheel Age
Árbær Open Air Museum

The Age of Carts

Even though the wheel is a an­cient in­ven­tion it ar­rived late to Iceland. Trans­port over long dis­tances were in prin­ciple the same from the time of set­tle­ment to the 19th cen­tury, namely on horses

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