Landbúnaðarsafn Íslands

About the museum

The Icelandic Museum of Agriculture (Landbúnaðarsafn Íslands) has its roots in the Búvélasafnið (Agricultural Machinery Museum) at Hvanneyri. Laws from 1940 provided for a collection of agricultural tools at the agricultural college, and the Agricultural Machinery Museum opened on a small scale in 1987. Funding was scarce for a long time, but headmasters and supporters saved tools, and the Icelandic Farmers' Association (Búnaðarfélag Íslands) donated valuable items from Ólafsdalur School, the country's first agricultural school, and from the estate of Thor Jensen at Korpúlfsstaðir.

On 14 February 2007 the museum was founded as an independent foundation by the Agricultural University of Iceland, the municipality of Borgarbyggð and the Farmers' Associations of Iceland (Bændasamtök Íslands). Its role was then widened from machines and tools to agriculture in general. The museum received recognition from the Museum Council (Safnaráð) on 20 February 2014 and moved the same year to Halldórsfjós, the old cowshed at Hvanneyri, which opened on 2 October 2014.

The basic exhibition covers two floors and deals with the mechanisation of Icelandic agriculture from around 1900 to 1980, with tools, dairy equipment, fertiliser spreaders, tractors and mowers. On the upper floor is an exhibition on women's work in agriculture over a hundred years, and in the basement is the newest exhibition, on the history of salmon fishing in Borgarfjörður. In the old hayloft there are tractors, and a visitor centre for the bird reserve at Andakíll is being set up.

Highlights

• Basic exhibition on the mechanisation of agriculture from about 1900 to 1980
• Tools from Ólafsdalur School and from Korpúlfsstaðir
• The exhibition Women in Farming for a Hundred Years
• The exhibition on the history of salmon fishing in Borgarfjörður in the basement
• Tractors in the old hayloft and the Ullarselið craft shop

Permanent exhibitions

• Grunnsýning – Exhibition on two floors on the mechanisation of Icelandic agriculture from about 1900 to 1980, with tools, dairy equipment and tractors.
• Konur í landbúnaði – Exhibition on the upper floor about the varied work of women in agriculture over a hundred years and the changes to it.
• Saga laxveiða – Newest exhibition in the basement about salmon fishing in Borgarfjörður and its importance for the district.

Founded

2007

Operated by

Sjálfseignarstofnun (stofnuð af Landbúnaðarháskóla Íslands, Borgarbyggð og Bændasamtökum Íslands)

Director

Ragnhildur Helga Jónsdóttir

Admission & discounts

Adults are aged 16 and over.

Accessibility

• Partially wheelchair accessible
• Elevator: no information
• Accessible restroom: no information
• Accessible parking: no information
• Service dogs welcome: no information
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

Wheelchair access is on the ground floor and in the basement. No information is given about a lift or access to the upper floor.

Kids & families

Children are the responsibility of parents and guardians. Some items in the exhibition must not be touched.

Getting there & parking

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Amenities & dining

• Museum shop

The craft shop Ullarselið in the entrance hall sells local handicrafts. Backpacks are not allowed in the exhibition hall.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit