冰岛巫术博物馆

it is a small museum, but very interesting, it is worth the travel and the visit. You can also have some nice lunch at the museum

This is a niche attraction in a beautiful natural environment. The small museum is lovingly tended by Sigurdur whose knowledge of local history and folklore is vast. The grim events of the witch hunts are well documented. It is a long drive but the area of Strandir is stunning. We visited on 2 January and will return to see it in a different season.

We were looking forward to this museum, but were underwhelmed when visiting. You are provided with a booklet that provides descriptions for the various items throughout the museum. It was basically a lot of reading and artifacts. It was also very repetitive. We got bored reading all of the descriptions and started speeding up going through the museum. If you are really interested in Sorcery and Witchcraft, it might be worth it. Otherwise, you could skip this.

We drove to Holmavik from Reykjavik. It's a long ride but well worth it.Our destination in Hólmavík was the witch museum. I took a witchcraft course at Harvard a few years ago and our Prof. was an Icelandic scholar. He told us about this museum (http://www.galdrasyning.is/index.php?lang=en) which houses some grimoires from the 17th century with symbols and spells by witches. 20 witches were executed at that time -- 19 men and 1 woman. The museum also has a unique replica of "necropants," which our Prof. told us about. I've included a photo of them here and you can read about them here: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2476512/Are-terrifying-trousers-The-17th-century-NECROPANTS-corpse-legs--supposed-lucky.html#ixzz2ik8eGnYm. They are VERY interesting, and not for the faint of heart! :-) Siggy is the proprietor of the museum. He is a knowledgeable, interesting person to talk with. If you visit the museum, be sure to sample some of Siggy's delicious food! And don't forget to say hi to his gorgeous pet cat!

The museum is located in a quite and mysterious little town, as soon as you arrive in Holmavik it is possible to feel something going on. We have stayed overnight, and at the hostel we have heard that the Museum was already closed for the season. We were there late September in 2010. However, next morning we were surprised by the opening of the Museum for us. It is a must see. It is impressive to witness the power of the witchcraft elements in Iceland history.

I love this quirky museum, which details the history of witchcraft in Iceland over the centuries. I particularly love the Invisible Boy and the Necropants. There are spells for making yourself invisible and for getting a girl into bed with you. And if you forget how, in the shop you can buy a mug with the spell printed on it! Imagine it - "Just lie there while I look at the mug!" Upstairs there is a display of instances of witchcraft discovered and what happened to the perpetrators. But even better, downstairs there is a great restaurant. The owner is quite a character, as you might imagine, and does a mean hot chocolate.

We went fairly far out of our way to Reykjavik from Northern Iceland just for this museum. It is very interesting, borderline odd and somewhat scary. It's incredibly interesting to learn about the important role of "sorcery and witchcraft" up until present-day in Iceland. If this is your thing, I suggest you stop here.And be forewarned - our car battery died here (but the chef at the museum was very happy to help!). Not surprised. ;)

That place is a combination of a odd but interesting museum about the history of witchcraft in the westfjords and a simple but very good restaurant. On their terrace you can enjoy a nice view over the harbor while eating a big bowl of great mussels.

It's a museum that's nice to visit if you would like to know more about the convictions of sorcerers in Iceland, but it doesn't offer anything big or exciting. There are 2 kind of creepy wax figures, but it doesn't get any better than that. They could make it more attractive I think, maybe with sort of a hunt for children and/or more visual "effects" that will trigger the fantasy of the visitors.There is also a Sorcerer's Cottage you can visit, it's about 45 min drive from this museum, next to the Laugarholl Hotel in Bjarnarfjörður. That's a nice place to visit (with a geothermal pool and natural hotpot, great!).

From the most literate country on the planet, the museum has great stories in at least 12 languages! To take a packet to self guide and read about the wild magical practices of over 900 years ago. We really loved this museum. It is small. About an hour or so is good. It might be scary for small children. There are models and body parts...etc.

“You wouldn’t think a famous museum would be so hard to find” we said as we pulled up to check our map outside a small black timber building. Glancing up at the sign on the side of the building we decided it was wholly appropriate that somewhere dedicated to a history of witchcraft should appear as if by magic.This small museum charts the history of witchcraft in the area, with models, an audio tour (available in various languages) and some slightly gruesome relics, some of which I really hope were fakes (especially the necropants!). I imagine some of these exhibits could be scary for smaller children. If your children, or you, are into the Harry Potter image of witchcraft they will be disappointed here. To be honest, I think you need an interest in folklore and history to really appreciate this place. It was intriguing for instance to discover that during the17th century all but one of the 20 people burned at the stake for witchcraft were male. The museum also does food, so, whilst we waited for a coach load of German tourists to go away, we enjoyed a late lunch of spankingly fresh mussels grown in the fjord, served with excellent home-made bread. Plain, simple and utterly delicious.

This place gives you a lot of insight into the superstitions of the old inhabitants of Iceland. The objects and rituals are explained in English and Icelandic, and there are guides printed in other languages. The intriguing oddness of the place is memorable, perhaps haunting, as one considers the intricacy of the requirements to cast a spell. The lore of the Necropants (there's a replica pair here) is particularly detailed, including how to skin the original wearer, and how to release oneself from the magic clothing. The museum seems to be a labor of love, as is the small cafe therein. I am thrilled that we took the time to visit the place.

I agree the exhibit is limited, it's not Louvre where you can wander for hours, but what it has is unique and fascinating. By all means this is an informal country museum which actually adds to its charm, and the admission is not too steep by Iceland standard. I started by reclining on a sofa and read the brochure (and while I was reading someone came over to turn on the floor lamp for me.), then went to see the exhibit. The brochure is a must read, I couldn't stop chuckling when I read some of the paragraphs. This kind of folklore is incredible! Amazing what can go on in people's mind when the winter is too long and dark. :) I wonder whether J.K. Rowling has visited this museum, but the witchcraft in Harry Potter pales with this. It's an eye opener and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

This museum certainly did not excite me .There were bits to read and you are handed an explanatory leaflet in your language as you enter.It is 900 kroner and to me seemed a waste of money.The exhibits were limited and my son in his teens spent more time looking at the visitor book than the exhibits.In fairness we did not try the cafe. Our total visit lasted less than 30 minutes as we felt we had seen everything. Definitely do not drive there specially for this museum.This was the only part of our Iceland trip that was disappointing.

I was so excited to visit The Museum of Sorcery and Witchcraft in Holmavik after reading about it online before my visit. It's really one of the top reasons my partner and I traveled to Iceland. I've been studying Norse mythology and was so excited to find such excellent resources in the museum itself and in the collection of books you had for sale. I've been especially enjoying the Grimoires.After perusing the fascinating exhibits, my partner enjoyed a coffee outside the cafe near the harbor. I really could have stayed at the museum and asked, Sigurður, the museum's curator and host, questions all day.