Vesturfarasetrið

About the museum

The Vesturfarasetrið (Emigration Centre) in Hofsós opened in July 1996. In 1990 Valgeir Þorvaldsson began renovating the old trading centre in Hofsós, and in 1995 the company Snorri Þorfinnsson ehf. was founded to finance the project. The renovation of the Gamla kaupfélagið (Old Cooperative) was completed in 1996, and President Vigdís Finnbogadóttir formally opened the centre.

The centre honours the Icelanders who emigrated across the Atlantic between 1850 and 1914 and connects their descendants with the old country. Snorri Þorfinnsson ehf. ran the centre until 2006; since then it has been run as a non-profit association under its board. In 2007 the government approved substantial support for five years.

The museum is housed in several buildings in the village: the Gamla kaupfélagið, with the exhibition “New Land, New Life” and the workshop of Stephan G. Stephansson; Frændgarður, which opened in 2000 with an exhibition hall, a genealogy centre and a library; and the Nýja konungsverslunarhúsið (New Royal Trading House), which opened in 2002. There is also an exhibition about Icelanders who moved to Brazil. Visitors can get help tracing their family history and finding the farms of their ancestors.

Highlights

• The exhibition “New Land, New Life” on emigration from 1870 to 1914
• Photo exhibition “Silent Flashes” on Western Icelandic photographs
• The exhibition “Prairies Wild and Free” on the settlement of Icelanders in North Dakota
• Exhibition on Icelanders who moved to Brazil
• Library and genealogy service in Frændgarður

Permanent exhibitions

• New Land, New Life – Exhibition in the Gamla kaupfélagið on the more than 16,000 Icelanders who emigrated to North America between 1870 and 1914: reasons for leaving, the journey and life in the new land. The exhibition is owned by Byggðasafn Skagfirðinga (Skagafjörður Folk Museum).
• Silent Flashes – Photo exhibition in Frændgarður of Western Icelandic photographs designed by Nelson Gerrard.
• Prairies Wild and Free – Exhibition in the Nýja konungsverslunarhúsið on the settlement of Icelanders in Pembina County in North Dakota.

Founded

1996

Operated by

Vesturfarasetrið (félag án hagnaðarmarkmiða)

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Amenities & dining

A genealogy library is in Frændgarður.

Events & venue rental

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