Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Turnhús
The carefully restored
Turnhús
, with its unusual roof tower, was constructed in
Denmark before being moved to Iceland in 1784, where it was used as a warehouse
and fish-salting house. As the tallest structure in Ísafjörður, it also served as a lookout
from where returning fishing boats were spotted - livelihoods depended on being first
to the dockside when the boats came in, it being paramount that the fish were
processed as quickly as possible.
On the
ground floor
, fishing paraphernalia and old black-and-white
photographs
give
a good idea of what life was like during the early twentieth century; look out for those
depicting the thousands of fish that were laid out to dry and salted in the open air. In
later years, ice cut from the fjord was used to preserve them instead. One photo, from
the winter of 1918, was taken when plummeting temperatures and ferocious storms
ushered in one of the severest winters for decades, when sheets of ice crept up the fjord,
choking up the harbour and freezing the entire fishing fleet - bar one boat - into the
ice. Curiously, the
first floor
has nothing on fishing, and is given over instead to a rather
dreary collection of harmonicas.
Krambúð and Faktorshús
Of the two remaining buildings on the museum site (both closed to the public), the
oldest is
Krambuð
, immediately to the right of Turnhús and dating from 1757. Used as
a storehouse until the early 1900s, it was then converted into a private residence. The
Faktorshús
from 1765, to the left of Turnhús, was once home to the site's trading
manager, but is now occupied by the chief librarian at Ísafjörður library.
4
Tangagata and Silfurgata
From the Heritage Museum, retrace your steps north along Suðurgata, turning right
into Njarðarsund and then left into Sindragata, to reach the oldest part of town, just
north of the harbour. Here, the brightly painted timber houses on
Tangagata
(a
continuation of Sindragata) and
Silfurgata
, which crosses it, are particularly beautiful,
with a stunning mountain backdrop.
The church
Sólgata 1 • Mon-Fri 9am-4pm
Ísafjörður's highly unusual
church
resembles nothing short of a folding concertina.
Built to replace the former timber church that burned down in 1987, this
architectural monster of peach-coloured pebbledash comprises four column-like
wedges that seemingly collapse into one another beneath a brilliant metal roof. It has
been the source of much local controversy ever since its inception, and to add insult
to injury, during its construction thirty graves were unceremoniously cemented over
to make way for it; a plaque bearing the names of those buried there now stands
beside the statue of Christ inside the unadorned interior. Beside the church, in the
tussocky field in front of the library, stands a
sculpture
of two burly Ísafjörður
fishermen hauling in a net full of cod, a reminder of the town's dependence on the sea;
the poignant inscription reads simply, “in honour of those who disappeared, for luck
for those who still put out to sea”.
Ísajörður park
Opposite the church, the diminutive but well-tended
town park
, sandwiched between
the boarding school and Seljalandsvegur, is remarkable for the arching form of a
white-painted whale bone marking the entrance. Dedicated to two local characters, Jón
Jónsson and Karlinna Jóhannesdóttir, who painstakingly tended and encouraged all
