Vesturfarasetrið: The Icelandic Emigration Center in Hofsós, Iceland Celebrates 30 Years
- David Johnson
- 5 days ago
- 2 min read
By David Johnson
An anniversary worth commemorating and celebrating! While travelling in Iceland this summer, a visit to the Icelandic Emigration Centre in Hofsós is a must.
2026 marks 30 years since Valgeir Þorvaldsson’s dream of a place in Iceland where the story of why so many Icelanders left for the Western Hemisphere became a reality. And with the birth of that reality, the old section of the village of Hofsós has also been revived. A celebratory event is scheduled for June 24th, starting at about 5 pm at the local community center, Höfðaborg. All are welcome!
If you are planning to be in northern Iceland this summer, a visit to the museum should be on your list. David Johnson, a long-time Icelandic Roots volunteer genealogist, will again be volunteering at the museum from June 1st through August 25th. Also, two Snorri Program Interns, one from the United States and another from Canada, will be at the museum to help visitors have a richer experience.
If you plan to come to the museum, please reach out in advance to David at david@hofsos.is so we can examine your family tree and be ready to greet you and perhaps share information about your family and their farms you didn’t know about.
If you are traveling to Iceland for the first time, we encourage you to become an Icelandic Roots supporting member before you leave. The geo-location mapping feature of the database makes it quite easy to find old family farms, even if they’ve long ago been abandoned.
Renovations will begin this summer on the first museum building that opened in 1996,
an old mercantile building from the early 1900s. The museum is deeply grateful to the organizations and individuals who donated about 2.5 million Icelandic kronur to help paint the exterior, install a new metal roof, and install new rain gutters and downspouts. More work is needed on the inside to replace faulty heating registers, so donations from individuals or organizations are still welcome. Icelandic Roots is proud to partner with and support Hofsós each year through annual financial contributions and IR Database access that help preserve and share Icelandic history for future generations.
We are especially excited to celebrate the 30th Anniversary of The Icelandic Emigration Center this summer. Icelandic Roots President Sunna Olafson Furstenau and her sister, Brenda Messerschmidt, will be traveling to Hofsós to take part in the celebration and honor the important work being done to preserve the stories of Icelandic emigrants around the world.
Congratulations on 30 remarkable years of connecting people to their roots. We look forward to celebrating with you!
To learn more, contact David Johnson at david@hofsos.is.
Editor Note: If you are interested in joining Icelandic Roots, you can review the different community memberships here: Icelandic Roots Membership. Choose the one that fits your interests.
Additional Reading from the archive of Icelandic Roots Blog Posts:
Search "Hofsos" or "Hofsós" for more articles from the archives. Here are a few for interest...
Hofsós Emigration Center July 2020, updated Aug 2012
Telling Tales in Hofsós, Skagafjarðarsýsla May 2022
