Reykjavík got a new museum yesterday: Borgarsögusafn Reykjavíkur (The City of Reykjavík Museum). The new museum unites Árbær Museum, the Settlement Exhibition, the Reykjavík Museum of Photography, the Reykjavík Maritime Museum and Viðey Island.
Mayor Jón Gnarr and the choirs Hrynjandi and Bartónar sailed from city’s old harbor to the Maritime Museum, where they broke into song entertaining guests at the Festival of the Sea.
Having reached land, Jón Gnarr and the choir members marched up to the festival stage.
A name competition for the new museum was launched at the beginning of May; countless suggestions were submitted. The winner received an award from the mayor at the inauguration ceremony. After that, the mayor formally announced the name of the new museum, inaugurating it by breaking a bottle of champagne on an anchor, to the crowd’s cheers.
The Reykjavík City Museum collects and conserves objects from Reykjavík’s cultural history and carries out research on them, and promulgates knowledge of the history and living conditions of the people of Reykjavík from the Settlement Age to the present day. The objective of the Museum’s work is to enhance interest, understanding and respect for the history of Reykjavík, and to ensure that everyone has access to the city’s cultural heritage.
