The Making of a Nation
Open: Summer 1/5-15/9
Every day 10:00-17:00
Open: Winter 16/9-30/4
Every day except
Monday 11:00-17:00
Homepage
www.thjodminjasafn.is
    
|
In 2004 the National Museum re-opened after extensive renovations, with a new standing exhibition: The Making of a Nation – Heritage and History in Iceland. The exhibition places Iceland’s cultural heritage in historic context, with about 2,000 exhibits spanning the period of more than 1100 years from the settlement of Iceland to the present day. Fun learning is also provided, with the opportunity for hands-on experience with games, costumes and replica weapons. The second-floor galleries focus on the period 800-1200, divided into sections of about two centuries, each of which has its key object: for the period 800-1000 a likeness of the Norse god Þór (Thor), and for the period 1000-1200 a Romanesque figure of Christ on the cross. In addition to the artefacts on display, visitors can also learn more through interactive multimedia displays on such subjects as the origins of the Icelanders, the Book of Settlements, parliamentary assemblies, chieftains and the Old Commonwealth, heathen graves, Viking-Age homes, and the Sturlung Age of the 13th century. At audio stations visitors can hear the voices of ancient Icelanders, such as a woman of the Settlement Age and her son in 930, and a medieval chieftain and his daughter in 1117. Excellent museum shop and café. |
