The Settlement Exhibition (Landnámssýningin)
Beneath a corner of central Reykjavik, under the floorboards of the modern city, sits the actual hearth of a Viking-Age longhouse — not a reconstruction, not a diorama, but the real thing, in the ground where it was left a thousand years ago. The exhibition at Aðalstræti 16 was built around that find after excavations in 2001 uncovered walls still in good condition and a central hearth intact.
The hall dates to roughly 930–1000 CE, and a fragment of its wall goes back to around 871 CE — a date pinned by a layer of volcanic ash from Torfajökull, some 400 kilometres to the east. That ash, visible in the exhibition, is the benchmark archaeologists use to read everything else.
💛 What travellers fall for
People who come back tend to linger at the tephra layer — the fine grey seam of volcanic ash pressed into the earth like a bookmark. The audio guide is free and worth taking; the lighting is deliberately dim, and the sound design does quiet, effective work. The annex at Aðalstræti 10, reached by underground tunnel, is easy to rush, but the floors tracking from 1906 to 1962 to the present repay slowing down.
The story behind The Settlement Exhibition (Landnámssýningin)
The site at Aðalstræti 16 sits almost exactly where the Icelandic Sagas place the settlement of Ingólfr Arnarson in 874 CE — the moment conventionally taken as Iceland's founding. The Settlement Age itself ran from 870 to 930, the period when Norse settlers first populated the island.
Construction of the exhibition began in autumn 2003, following the 2001 excavation, and the museum opened in 2006 — designed by Hjörleifur Stefánsson of Gullinsnið, with exhibition design by Þórunn Þorgrímsdóttir of Visionis ehf., and archaeological content provided by Sólrún Inga Traustadóttir and Eva Kristín Dal. A second location, Aðalstræti 10 — a building raised in 1762 as part of the Innréttingar industrial initiative — was connected by tunnel and opened as an expanded annex in 2022.
Good to know
The exhibition is a five-minute walk from Laugavegur, with no on-site parking. Plan 45–60 minutes. Admission is 1,700 ISK for adults; under-17s and Reykjavík City Card holders enter free. Summer daily guided tours run at 11 a.m. Verify opening hours before you go — sources vary.
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What travellers say about The Settlement Exhibition (Landnámssýningin)
A really interesting museum. In the basement there are the archaelogical remains of a more than 1000 years old manor and the remains of an old wall, which is probably the oldest structure in town. The upper floors cover the history of Reykjavik from the foundation to recent times. Very informative, definitely worth a visit if you are interested in the history of Reykjavik and especially about the life in town.
I learned a lot! Although made for kids, this museum was exceptionally educational (even more so than the national museum). It contains the actual archival ruins of pre Christian settlement house discovered under the town. Helps you understand how these early people actually lived here. Definitely worth your time!
Really nice museum and even tough I've lived many years in Iceland I'd never been and it's extremely disabled friendly which is important as it's difficult travelling with a disability. Very accommodating and nice museum and even though we only had 30 minutes before closing there wasn't a lot of people there so another plus point.
The museum was very nice, with lots of interesting information and some really cool artifacts. Everything was well organized and easy to follow, which made the visit enjoyable. The only thing I would have liked is for it to be a bit more interactive, but overall it was a great experience.
I loved this museum! I am particularly interested in the settlement era of Iceland's history, so this was really interesting for me. There were LOTS interesting exhibits to read and explore. I spent a couple of hours there! I am disabled. The museum is wheelchair accessible with accessible bathrooms, although the museum floor itself is undulating. Be a little cautious. The museum is free for disabled people, but you have to ask. They don't seem to suggest this discount, no matter how disabled you look!
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