The National Museum of Iceland (
Icelandic: ''Þjóðminjasafn Íslands'' ) was established on 24 February 1863, with
Jón Árnason the first curator of the
Iceland
Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...
ic collection, previously kept in
Danish museums
A museum is an institution dedicated to displaying or preserving culturally or scientifically significant objects. Many museums have exhibitions of these objects on public display, and some have private collections that are used by researchers ...
.
Collections
The second curator,
Sigurður Guðmundsson, advocated the creation of an antiquarian collection. The museum was called the ''Antiquarian Collection'' until 1911 when its name changed to the National Museum of Iceland. Before settling at its present location, at Suðurgata 41, 101
Reykjavík
Reykjavík is the Capital city, capital and largest city in Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland on the southern shore of Faxaflói, the Faxaflói Bay. With a latitude of 64°08′ N, the city is List of northernmost items, the worl ...
, in 1950, it was housed in various Reykjavík attics, including in the attic of the
Culture House for 40 years.
The museum's permanent exhibit is about Icelandic history and includes about 2,000 objects.
A key object in the permanent exhibition is the
Valþjófsstaður door, a celebrated carving depicting a version of the Lion-Knight legend where a knight slays a dragon, thus freeing a lion that becomes his companion.
See also
*
Höfðaletur - related to carvings at the Museum
References
External links
Official websiteincludin
information in English
{{Authority control
1863 establishments in Iceland
Museums established in 1863
Museums in Reykjavík
National museums of Iceland
History museums in Iceland