Steinasafn Petru

About the museum

Petra Sveinsdóttir, known as Steina-Petra, collected stones for more than sixty years in the mountains and valleys of East Iceland. She began collecting as a child and continued into old age. The museum is in her home at Sunnuhlíð in Stöðvarfjörður, where she lived with her husband and four children.

After her husband died suddenly in 1974, Petra opened her home and her stone collection to visitors. The house is almost unchanged from when she lived there, and the stones fill the living rooms and corridors. Today the museum is run as a family business owned by her descendants, without public grants, and relies on ticket sales for its income.

The collection includes thousands of stones, mainly from East Iceland, along with stones from all over the country and gifts from foreign collectors. Visitors can see rock crystals, agate, calcite, jasper, opals, obsidian, Iceland spar and fossils. The garden, which has been cultivated since 1946, is an ornamental garden with an educational display on rock types. Information boards are placed throughout, and QR codes provide reading material in several languages.

Highlights

• Petra's home almost unchanged, with stones in every room
• Rock crystals, jasper, opals and obsidian
• Educational display on rock types in the garden
• Ornamental garden cultivated since 1946
• Kaffi Sunnó café in a glass house and in the garden

Permanent exhibitions

• Steinasafnið í Sunnuhlíð – Petra Sveinsdóttir's home with thousands of stones, mainly from East Iceland, each labelled with its type and chemical composition.
• Fræðslusýning í garðinum – Different rock types are displayed in the garden, with explanations of how they formed and what they look like.

Founded

1974

Operated by

Fjölskyldufyrirtæki í eigu afkomenda Petru Sveinsdóttur

Admission & discounts

Accessibility

• 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

The museum states that it is accessible for people with reduced mobility and that the facilities are designed with the needs of children, older people and people with reduced mobility in mind.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

The museum aims to be family-friendly, and the facilities are designed with children in mind. The garden and the stones appeal to visitors of all ages.

Getting there & parking

The museum is in the middle of Stöðvarfjörður, on Route 1 (the Ring Road).

Amenities & dining

• Café
• Museum shop

Kaffi Sunnó is open 9:00–17:00 and has seating both in the glass house and in the garden; there is also a drive-through window for people in a hurry. The coffee is roasted in Stöðvarfjörður, and the bread and cakes come from Brauðdögum. The shop sells souvenirs made from Icelandic stones, handcrafted by Petra's family, and unworked stones.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

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