Agricultural Museum of Iceland

In Hvanneyri, the heart of the Borgarfjörður countryside, you’ll find the Agricultural Museum of Iceland. The museum is located in the old cowshed, which is the museums biggest artifact. This building is part of the old homestead of Hvanneyri, surrounded by buildings from the beginning of the 20th century, designed by the country’s leading architects at that time. The museum is dated back to 1940 and is based on a farming tool collection from the Agricultural school (today Agricultural University of Iceland). Today the museum collection is around 1200 objects, photos, pamplets, personal testimonies and books. This is the perfect place to learn about the Icelandic agriculture’s significant history, observe old tools and equipment, and think about farming’s future developments. The museum shows development of Icelandic agriculture from settlement to the 20th century, with particular emphasis on the early modern era. Among its most notable objects are tools used in Iceland’s first farming school, Ólafsdalsskólinn, and at Thor Jensen’s farm at Korpúlfsstaðir in Reykjavík, which used to be one of the largest and most modern dairy farms in the country. The main exhibition is on ground floor focused on the history of farming from early 20th century. In the museum we also have the exhibition, Women in Agriculture in 100 years, which highlights the variety of jobs women have had in agriculture, as well as showing changes in their jobs over time. It’s located on the second floor. History of Salmon fishing in Borgarfjörður is the newest addition to the museum. The exhibition is in the basement, follow the sound of the waterfall and there you can learn all about the history of salmon fishing and its meaning for the region.