Laufás Rectory

The old rectory at Laufas is under the administration of the Akureyri Museum. The oldest part of the farm was built in 1840 and in the years 1866-1870, Rev. Bjorn Halldorsson had the rectory enlarged and old part renovated.

The old rectory at Laufas is considered to be the prototype of the Icelandic architecture (many gables side by side), but much larger than most other such complexes. Usually, between 20 and 30 people lived at Laufas because many farmhands were needed to reap the benefits of the farm, such as the haymaking, the fishing in the river and the collection of eiderdown along the coastline. The last priest to live in the old buildings moved to a new rectory, nearby in 1936. The old rectory has not been occupied since, the interior and equipment shown are things found in Icelandic homes around the turn of the 19^th century. The following rectory (build in 1936) is now days used for the catering of the visitors, restrooms and souvenir shop.

The old rectory at Laufas is open daily from 15th May to 15th September. Other time of the year the museum is open according to special requests. Laufás is located on the other side of the fjord from Akureyri, close to Grenivík. There is no public transportation to the museum from Akureyri but travel operators from Akureyri offer tours either directly to the museum or as a part of a longer tour. Information about the tour operators can be found in the liste under local daytour operators here.

If heading out on your own during wintertime we advise visitors to check the website of the The Icelandic Road Administration to see the condition of the road as well as the weather prognoses for the area by the Iceland Met Office before setting out for an adventure of the day.