Museum of Icelandic Sorcery & Witchcraft

About Museum of Icelandic Sorcery & Witchcraft

In 17th-century Iceland, a carved symbol or a scrap of spellbook could get you burned at the stake. The Museum of Icelandic Sorcery and Witchcraft in Hólmavík tells that story, from the magic staves people were tried for to the folk beliefs that made the risk seem worth taking.

The trials were real. More than 200 sorcery cases came before Icelandic courts during the 1600s, and over 20 people were burned. Downstairs, the exhibits cover magic in folklore, including a replica of the notorious necropants, while the upper floor looks at who accused and judged the condemned.

One corner recreates the home of Jón lærði, a self-taught scholar who only narrowly escaped the fire himself. The museum has been run by the nonprofit Strandagaldur since it opened in June 2000, and its staff still research and publish on Icelandic magic.

You'll find the black wooden building by the harbor in the old part of Hólmavík, about a kilometer in from the main road, on the Strandir coast of the Westfjords. From Reykjavík, the drive takes about three hours. Plan on 45 minutes to an hour inside, longer if you eat at Restaurant Galdur, which shares the building and is open to everyone.

The museum is open every day: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. from May 15 to September 30, and noon to 6 p.m. the rest of the year, though it closes on Mondays from November through March. Admission is 1,600 ISK for adults, with discounts for students and seniors, and free for kids 14 and under.

The second half of the exhibition, Kotbýli kuklarans (the Sorcerer's Cottage), sits in Bjarnarfjörður about 25 kilometers north of Hólmavík, next to Hótel Laugarhóll. It recreates how an ordinary Strandir household lived in the witch-hunt era, and entry is free.