The Hafnarfjörður Museum

submitted by Icetimes on 09/22/14 1

The Hafnarfjörður Museum is a museum of cultural artefacts and photographs of Hafnarfjörður town. Its objective to collect, document, preserve, protect and study objects and artefacts of the region´s cultural history and present them to the public. The cultural area represented in Hafnarfjordur Museum is the town of Hafnarfjordur and the surrounding region. The Warehouse There are usually three exhibitions running concurrently at Pakkhúsið, a permanent exhibition on the history of Hafnarfjörður, an exhibition of toys, and a short-term exhibition on a chosen theme. The exhibition "Thus it was . . . " tells the history of Hafnarfjörður and the surrounding region from the settlement to this day, with the aid of historical texts, photographs, illustrations, films, and numerous artefacts that give life to the history. In this exhibition you can learn about the German and English periods in the town's history, and the history of its trade, fishing industry, sports and film theatres, the British occupation during WWII, and much more. On the top floor of Pakkhúsið you will find the museum's toy exhibition. This exhibition, designed by the award winning museum and exhibition designers Janvs Ltd., is specifically directed at children. A large collection of toys is preserved at Hafnarfjörður Museum, and a part thereof is on display at the toy exhibition. The objects are rotated regularly, so there is always something new to see at the toy exhibition. In the Pakkhús entrance hall, travelling exhibitions or exhibitions centred on particular themes are put on each spring, and these last through the summer. They are meant to cast a light on specific periods or events in the history of the town of Hafnarfjörður. and its vicinity,but can also be travelling exhibitions from abroad. Sivertsen´s House Sivertsen´s house is the oldest house in Hafnarfjörður, built in 1803-1805 by Bjarni Sivertsen. He was a entrepreneur in Hafnarfjörður between 1794 and 1830, a merchant who owned a fishing buisness and shipyard in town. Bjarni was one of the Icelanders after the Danish trade monopoly ended, and has been given the title „The father of Hafnarfjörður". The house has been restored to its orginal state and shows how an upper-class family in Hafnarfjörður lived at the beginning of the 19th century, while light is shed on the interesting story of Bjarni Sívertsen and his family. Beggubúð Beggubúð (Begga´s shop) is the location of the Museum of Commerce, part of Hafnarfjördur Museum. The building was construcked in 1906 on the town´s main shopping street. It was lifted and moved to the museum´s site in 2008 were it was restored and used to house an exhibition. The Bungalow The Bungalow was built in 1918. It was the residence of Harry and Douglas Bookless, Scottish brothers who ran an extensive fisheries operation based in Hafnarfjordur in the first half of the 20th century. The highly influential brothers were the largest emplyers in the town for many years. Their company, Bookless Bros, was eventually taken over by another British company, Hellyer Bros Ltd from Hull. The new owners continued to operate a flourishing business for some time. The building was reopened after refurbishment in 2008. It now houses an exhibition describing the period of foreign fisheries operations in Hafnarfjördur during the first half of the 20th century. The Bookless brothers drawing room has also been restored. Sigga´s House The seaman Erlendur Marteinsson built Sigga´s house in 1902. His daughter Sigridur (Sigga) Erlendsdóttir, was 10 years old when she moved omto the house and lived there until the year 1978, when she moved to Sólvangur, a local old age home. Her house has been preserved as an example of the home of a labourer and a seaman in Hafnarfjörður at the beginning of the 20th century. There you can experience and get to know how common people of the town lived at that time. The Good Templars Hall When the Good Templars Hall was built in 1886 it was considered to be a very large building -- it could acommodate 300 people when the population of Hafnardfjördur was only just over 400. It was the first public hall in the town, and for a very long time it was the venue for meetings and entertainments held by many other associations. The first meeting of the hafnarfjödur Town Council was held there. The hall now houses an exhibition depicting the development of sports and community in Hafnarfjördur.

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