Birth of a Village
Birth of a Village
The Local History Museum opened a new exhibition in the spring of 2014, called Birth of a Village. The exhibition addresses the local history of the region and somewhat the whole country. It covers the main aspects of history from the period of settlement in the early 9th century to the middle of the 20th century.
Over the centuries people traveled here on foot, on horseback or by sea, to the Suðurnes region, for the annual fishing season. Most would join the crews of fishing boats, while others came to the fishing stations to buy and sell various commodities. People gathered here from all parts of Iceland, and even from abroad, to stay for the weeks or months of the fishing season. Different groups came at different times of year – sometimes one after the other in succession. Local people carried on their lives as usual, or even traveled to other parts of the country for seasonal employment.
Little clusters of houses expanded into hamlets and villages, and new communities came into existence, where life revolved around catching fish, then preparing it and selling it. And that gave rise to a community. That was the tenor of life in the Suðurnes region, down the centuries and into the 20th century.
The exhibition is on display in Duus Museum.