Dark and mysterious, Icelandic culture is heavily bound with magical elements, from elves to trolls, and darker constituents with deadly human consequences. The Museum of Icelandic Sorcery & Witchcraft, also known as Strandagaldur, covers the historical witch trials from the 1600s and describes the casting of bizarre spells to control the weather, wake up the dead, find riches, or become invisible.
Situated in the small town of Holmavik in the eastern edge of the Westfjords, the two-floor museum is housed in a turf house.
How to get the most out of this museum:
The exhibits are not in English, there is however a lengthy pamphlet that goes into depth about the spells and rituals.
Find your way into the room with the comfy armchairs and read up on the fascinating stories. The museum is what you make of it, taking the time to read the text is essential because there is not much signage nor any interactive components. Make your way into the exhibit hall and see the magical staves and wooden runes.
After visiting as the stories soaked in, it was all my companion and I could talk about for days and we still giggle about it till this day. In reflection, it ended up become a keystone of our trip and I would recommend it if you are interested in folklore and/or history.
True Stories:
+In 1652 Jón Rögnvaldsson was burnt at the stake as a sorcerer for raising the dead. After that a craze ensued and since the reformation 170 were accused of witchcraft in Iceland, with cases heavily concentrated in the Westfjords. Of the accused, 20 men and 1 woman were burned, different from the American witch trials mainly comprised of women. Due to the lack of trees in the country, the wood would be taken from the homes of the convicts.
+The only object ever found connected with the old Viking religion, known in sagas as a bowl to hold sacrificial blood during rituals. Scientific research authenticates the blood remains in the bowl to the local tales. The artifact was found just 30 minutes from the museum in the Valley of the Deity.
+In 1615 three ships filled with Basque whalers crashed ashore near the museum. Eighty survived the shipwreck and started to steal from local farms to survive. There was an order to kill the Basques on sight and a massacre of 32 men occurred. Exactly 400 years later in 2015, the decree to destroy all Basques in the region was officially repealed, commemorated with a plaque to prove their safety in the country.
Enticing Tales:
+The Necropants or Nábrók is one of the most gruesome feats in magic. It takes two to begin. A sorcerer makes a pact with a living man, that he can dig up said mans dead body and flay his skin from the waist down to create a trouser made of human skin.
The wizard wears these skin pants which immediately become his own, and then steals a coin from a poor widow on Christmas or Easter and keeps it in the scrotum. From then on, an infinite source of coins can be found in the scrotum. The only catch is, the owner must step out of the pants and convince someone else to step into them before he dies – or his body will become infested with lice after he passes.
+The Tilberi is unique in the Icelandic magical circle, because there weren’t many women included, this one is just for the ladies. To get a tilberi the woman must steal a human rib from a churchyard and spit on it with wine from three Sunday communions. When it is grown she cuts a piece of her thigh to create a nipple for the tilberi to draw nourishment.
When it is big enough it can go out and steal milk from farmers and its mother can create delicious Icelandic butter out of that. To get rid of it, the woman must pick up lamb dropping from three highland farms and feed it to the tilberi, which will then explode.
Good to know:
+Admission is $9; open from 11-7
+You can dine on site at Restaurant Galdur
+The Sorcerer’s Cottage is a second part of the museum, 19 miles away in Bjarnafjörður, which gives a look into the life of tenant farmers and their fight for survival. Many of the accused came from this class of people.
Definitely a wild subject!!
Wow, amazing museum. Thanks for sharing.