Christmas „sold out“ at the Folk Museum this year 

„The Christmas programme at the Sívertsen House for nurseries has always been well attended, but never has there been as much demand for this event as in 2025,“ says Björn Pétursson, the town's curator of heritage, when asked to name the highlight of 2025.  

„It was „sold out“ this year and fewer people got in than would have liked. There were 32 nursery groups who visited the Sievertsen House over six days, or 545 children and 106 nursery teachers.“ Yes, Christmas had been very sweet at the museum. 

„For fun, it is also worth adding that in the month of Christmas, 624 marshmallows were grilled at a bonfire hosted by the museum on the Folk Museum Square.“ 

Björn says that attendance at the museum, exhibitions and events was very good in 2025. 

A lot of shows were enjoyed.  

• The Folk Museum has opened a new themed exhibition in the Packhouse, entitled „Always Ready: 100 Years of Scouting“. It outlines the diverse activities of the scouts in Hafnarfjörður and the important role they have played in the leisure activities of the town's children and teenagers over the past century. 
• A new exhibition was set up on the Strandstígnur before 1 June: The Sports Town of Hafnarfjörður – Snapshots from 1900 to 1980. It features 54 photographs on 24 panels.
• Two new exhibitions have been set up in Hellisgerði. Permanent signs have been installed there. The Folk Museum will then change its exhibitions several times a year. The first exhibition was about the 100-year history of the YMCA and YWCA at Kaldársel, and the second, which was set up in November before the opening of the Christmas village, was about Icelandic Christmas traditions. 

• A small exhibition, „The Day Nursery at Hörðuvellir for 90 Years“, was then set up on the fence at the nursery during the spring.  

Björn also notes that the museum receives numerous donations from local residents each year, which expand its collection and strengthen it. „A total of 50 gifts, both artefacts and photographs, were received by the museum in 2025. Each gift often contained several items,“ he says.  

Björn specifically mentions that in 2025, an agreement was signed with the Hafnarfjörður Cemetery to restore the old hearse, which is one of the museum's artefacts. „The hearse is a 1938 Ford with a wooden body built by Haukur Jónsson and with carvings by the woodcarver Ríkharður Jónsson,“ he says.  

„The hearse was owned by master carpenter Haukur Jónsson and served as a hearse for the people of Hafnarfjörður for around 30 years, from 1938.“ But the museum also looked after other artefacts from the past.  

„The boat „Helgi Nikk“, which is usually moored in the Folk Museum Square, underwent a major overhaul in December and will therefore look splendid once again in the square outside the museum next summer.“  

So what did he find most enjoyable? „I suppose it was the well-successful seminar on the preservation of wooden boats, held in Ægi 220,“ he says.  

„This was a fun collaborative project by the Folk Museum, in partnership with the Reykjanesbær Folk Museum and the Garðskagi Folk Museum, held on 30 September. The symposium was well attended, and there was clearly a need for discussion on the subject. Several guests travelled nearly 1000 km to be able to take part in the symposium.