Íslenski bærinn - Turf House - Selfoss

Omprakash

Roofs of sod have sheltered mainland Scandinavians through countless winters and summers. But those who migrated from Norway's grass-roof log cabins to this Icelandic tundra in the 9th century found none of the rich timberlands of their homeland — just wispy birch forests and grassy fields. To survive the cold, they took the old turf roof concept and built on it, encasing not only the roofs but the walls of their birch-framed homes in layers of living, insulating soil.

The turf buildings shown here are located at Skaftafell, a manor farm founded by early settlers and now part of Vatnajökull National Park. Unlike Icelanders' history, though, these huts aren't a millennium-old. They date to the 19th century when the plains in the distance began flooding and the farmers who'd made homes there were forced uphill.

juliet B.

Beautiful - there was a note on the door saying it was shut but the turf houses up the hillock were open, they were fabulous. The flowers and the serenity of the place was sublime

P L.

La photo postée par un visiteur d'une maison rouge ne correspond pas à ce site. Il y a bien des maisons traditionnelles mais beaucoup moins jolies que ça. Nous y sommes passés et tout semblait fermé presque abandonné.

Kit H.

Alright, this place is just weird. Appears to just bd someone's art studio and farm. It was free so that's nice but I can't say I'd go out of my way for it.

Ben H.

There wasn’t anyone to tell us anything or any information really. It was unclear if we were even supposed to be there.

Ingi ?. B.

A big plus goes to the couple Hannes and Kristín to restore the old turf House at Eystri-Meðalholt. There are not many turf houses like this in their original setting in South Iceland, but there are more in the north. Got to know the reason yesterday: Due to the wet condition in the south, the farms had to be rebuild every ~40 years, but It is much drier in the north, where couple of farms like this still stand (as museums). The couple has collected many photos of the turf houses around the country and display them in their relatively newly build museum house. Yesterday these two visionaries gave the tour themselves, and it was terrific because they love the subject so much. It is, however, unlikely that they can give the tour themselves all the time, once the visitor numbers rises.

Susan C.

Fascinating insight into life in a turf house. The tour was delivered with great passion by the owner.The best museum we have been to in Iceland.

Bastiaan

Wat een tegenvaller zeg. Je hoeft er niks van te verwachten.