Sjóminjasafnið á Hellissandi

About the museum

The Maritime Museum (Sjóminjasafnið) is in the Sjómannagarðurinn in Hellissandur, right next to the visitor centre of Snæfellsjökull National Park. It was founded on the initiative of the Sjómannadagsráð Hellissands og Rifs (Seamen's Day Council of Hellissandur and Rif) to preserve the fishing history of the place. Hellissandur is one of the oldest fishing villages in the country, and boats rowed out from there for centuries.

The centrepiece of the museum is the eight-oared boat Bliki, which Sæmundur Sigurðsson from Geitareyjar built in 1826 for a farmer in Akureyjar in Helgafellssveit. It is considered the oldest preserved fishing vessel in the country and was used for rowing from Hellissandur until the 1960s.

Þorvaldarbúð, a reconstructed þurrabúð, shows the living conditions of seafarers and is a replica of the last house of this type that was lived in at Hellissandur. The museum and the garden also contain boat engines, photographs, strongman stones, whale bones and the artwork Jöklarar by Ragnar Kjartansson, a memorial to seafarers who were lost at sea.

Highlights

• Bliki, an eight-oared boat from 1826 and the oldest preserved fishing vessel in the country
• Þorvaldarbúð, a reconstructed þurrabúð (fishermen's cottage) from earlier times
• Strongman stones, boat engines and photographs from fishing life
• The memorial Jöklarar by Ragnar Kjartansson
• Location beside the visitor centre of Snæfellsjökull National Park

Permanent exhibitions

• Bliki og aðrir munir úr sjósókn – The eight-oared boat Bliki from 1826, together with boat engines, photographs, strongman stones and other items from the rowing-boat era.
• Þorvaldarbúð – A reconstructed þurrabúð, a replica of the last house of this type that was lived in at Hellissandur.

Admission & discounts

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Accessibility

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Kids & families

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Getting there & parking

The museum is at Sandahraun 7 in Hellissandur, in the Sjómannagarðurinn next to the national park visitor centre (Sandahraun 5).

Amenities & dining

There is a café nearby at the visitor centre of Snæfellsjökull National Park.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.