Byggðasafn Dalvíkurbyggðar Hvoll

Folk museum in Dalvík houses historical objects that were used as part of the people's everyday lives in a local rural community and deals with folk culture and heritage. It not only captures stories of the locals who became known such as: Jóhann Svarfdælingur - considered the tallest man of its time, Kristján Eldjárn - an archeologist and a president of Iceland between 1968 - 1980, but also significant stories of women whose contribution to the local community is priceless. On top of this, the museum includes a collection of natural heritage, including a stuffed polar bear, as well as stuffed bird collections related to the Natural Reserve of Svarfaðdalaur where more than 30 bird species nest. The museum also houses a collection of artefacts from the eastern shore of Greenland, the town Ittoqqortoormit, which has been so called: ‘a friend-town of Dalvík’. In 1934, community of Dalvík experienced a strong earthquake and locals lost their belongings and houses, fortunately no human lives were lost. Part of the collection depicts this story. The Dalvík museum was formally open in 1987 and has been going through a transformation period since 2023. The collections had to be moved temporarily out of the old premises and need to be stored at 2 different temporary locations until a new housing arrangement is secured for the museum. A lot of work has been put into finding the most suitable housing arrangement. For the time being, we only welcome limited and small groups of visitors to the local town hall, where a part of the collection has been temporarily stored. The bookings need to be made in advance with a person responsible.