Reyk­javík City Mu­seum
Our His­tory

Here you can view the program of the National Day Celebration at Árbær Open Air Museum on 17 June.

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Wo­men's Rights Day - Free entry for wo­men and gender­queer!

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Here you can view this summer's micro courses at Árbæjarsafn

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Our locations

Events

19.06.2025
Árbær Open Air Museum

Women's Rights Day - Free entry for women and genderqueer!

On Women's Rights Day, 19 June, Árbær Open Air Museum offers free admission to women and genderqueer to celebrate the day. On this day in 1915, Icelandic women over 40 years old gained the right to vote and were eligible for parliament. To mark the 110 years that have passed since then, there will be a guided tour of the museum dedicated to women's history at 14:00.

Women's Rights Day - Free entry for women and genderqueer!
19.06.2025
Reykjavík Maritime Museum

The Coast Guard Vessel Óðinn - guided tour on board

We offer daily guided tours at 13:00, 14:00, and 15:00 on board the Coast Guard vessel Óðinn from 1 March to 31 October, focusing on the Cod Wars and the vessel's rescue history. Welcome aboard!

The Coast Guard Vessel Óðinn - guided tour on board
19.06.2025
Árbær Open Air Museum

Guided tour at Árbær Open Air Museum

The guide takes guests to all the main houses of the museum and tells their stories. The guided tour is in English and takes just over an hour.

Guided tour at Árbær Open Air Museum
21.06.2025
Viðey Island

Summer Solstice Walk

Join us for a Summer Solstice Walk on Viðey Island on Saturday evening, June 21. During the solstice, the sun's passage is the longest here in the northern hemisphere, and the midday sun stops rising day by day. The days will become shorter. The spoken language will be Icelandic.

Summer Solstice Walk
22.06.2025
Árbær Open Air Museum

Midsummer Festival

Come celebrate Swedish Midsommar / Icelandic Jónsmessa with us! Árbær Open Air Museum in collaboration with the Swedish Society in Iceland, and the Reykjavík Folk Dance Society, invite you to a family-friendly festival with a midsummer theme! Free admission for anyone wearing a national costume, children up to 17 years old, people with disabilities, and Reykjavík Culture Card holders.

Midsummer Festival
23.06.2025
Árbær Open Air Museum

Midsummer Night Walk

On Midsummer Night, Monday, 23 June at 21:30, the Reykjavík City Museum and Elliðaárstöð invite you to an informative nature walk in Elliðaárdalur. The walk will be led by environmental folklorist Björk Bjarnadóttir.

Midsummer Night Walk
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Ex­hib­i­tions

Steingrímur Hermannsson, prime minister with drag queens on election night, 20 April 1991
Reykjavík Museum of Photography
03. May 2025-07. December 2025

Gun­nar V. An­drés­son Press Pho­to­grapher │Half a Cen­tury Through the Lens

The ex­hib­i­tion "Half a Cen­tury Through the Lens" ex­plores press pho­to­grapher Gun­nar V. An­drés­son’s ca­reer, that las­ted more than fifty years – from 1966 to 2018.

Growing Pains
Árbær Open Air Museum
25. April 2024

Grow­ing Pains

The ex­per­i­mental ex­hib­i­tion "Grow­ing Pains" gives you an in­sight into the world of primary school chil­dren in Reyk­javík between 1898 and 1974.

Fish & folk – 150 years of fisheries
Reykjavík Maritime Museum
08. June 2018

Fish & folk – 150 years of fish­er­ies

The ex­hib­i­tion Fish & folk – 150 years of fish­er­ies at the Reyk­javík Mari­time Mu­seum is about the his­tory of the Icelandic fish­er­ies, from the time when row­ing boats gave way to large fish­ing ves­sels in the late 19th cen­tury, through to the 21st cen­tury.

Milestones by Richard Serra, 1991.
Viðey Island
18. September 2015

Mile­stone­s│Richard Serra

For the Reyk­javík Arts Fest­ival of 1990, a work of art by US sculp­tor Richard Serra was crea­ted on West is­land.

The Imagine Peace Tower
Viðey Island
18. September 2015

The Ima­gine Peace Tower

Work of art concei­ved by the leg­end­ary art­ist, mu­si­cian and peace ad­voc­ate Yoko Ono as a beacon for world peace.

Consumption – Reykjavík in the 20th century
Árbær Open Air Museum
05. June 2014

Con­sump­tion – Reyk­javík in the 20th cen­tury

The ex­hib­i­tion aims to show the huge and rapid changes that took place in con­sump­tion pat­terns in Reyk­javík dur­ing the 20th cen­tury – to ex­plore the factors that af­fected con­sump­tion, and how tech­nical ad­vances, gov­ern­ment ac­tions, wars, and events in Ice­land and abroad in­flu­enced the daily life of the people of Reyk­javík.

The Wheel Age
Árbær Open Air Museum
02. July 2009

The Age of Carts

Even though the wheel is a an­cient in­ven­tion it ar­rived late to Iceland. Trans­port over long dis­tances were in prin­ciple the same from the time of set­tle­ment to the 19th cen­tury, namely on horses

Toy Exhibition: Come and play!
Árbær Open Air Museum
17. June 2008

Come and play!

The ex­hib­i­tion fo­cuses on chil­dren's cul­ture, toys and games in the last cen­tury. It is housed in a former church and sports hall called Landakot. The ex­hib­i­tion is in­ter­act­ive and it suits chil­dren in all age groups. Open at the same time as the mu­seum.

From High Mass to High Jump
Árbær Open Air Museum
17. June 2008

From High Mass to High Jump

The story of the build­ing Landakot is told in the ex­hib­i­tion From High Mass to High Jump. The house was built in 1897 as the first cath­olic church in Ice­land since the Re­form­a­tion. In 1930 it be­came a sportshall and re­mained as such un­til 2004 when it was re­lo­cated to the mu­seum.

Aðalstræti
Aðalstræti
12. May 2006

The Set­tle­ment Ex­hib­i­tion - Step into the Vik­ing Age

Just be­low ground in the main street in the centre of Reyk­javík called Aðal­stræti, an open ex­cav­a­tion un­cov­ers the city's Vik­ing Age his­tory. A new ad­di­tion to the ex­hib­i­tion was opened in May 2022. This new dis­play is a dir­ect con­tinu­ation of The Set­tle­ment Ex­hib­i­tion, rep­res­ent­ing Reyk­javík's his­tory from set­tle­ment to the present day.

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