Síldarminjasafn Íslands

The Herring Era Museum of Iceland is working towards making Siglufjordur the future centre of traditional wooden boat building knowledge in Iceland.

A wooden boat builder has been hired by the Museum and discussions are under way to develop a traditional wooden boat building course in cooperation with the Technical College of Hafnarfjordur. Last year, the old shipyard in Siglufjordur was added to the Museum’s holdings. As the building is being fixed up, museum guests are welcome to watch as old wooden boats are repaired and new ones built.

The Herring Era Museum is Iceland’s largest maritime museum. The Boat House recreates the town’s bustling harbour of the 1950s, with many old fishing boats at the dock. Grána, a herring meal and oil factory of the 1930s shows how men and machines processed herring into meal and oil. The oldest museum building is Róaldsbrakki, built as a Norwegian herring station in 1907, it now includes an exhibition on herring salting in Iceland. The old building has largely been left as it was when it housed dozens of girls working in the herring fishery. In summer on the museum dock there is a show of salting herring into barrels, singing and dancing to accordion music.

Open daily in June, July and August. The daily opening hours are 10:00 - 18:00, from June 18th to August 20th, and 13:00 - 17:00 during spring and autumn.   

Entry fee for all three museum buildings is ISK 1200 (for groups: ISK 1000) but senior citizens and teenagers under 20 pay ISK 600. Admission is free for Children under 16 years old.

The Herring Era Museum was the first winner of the Icelandic Museum Award 2000 and won the European Museum Award 2004, the Micheletti award.