David Stefansson Memorial Museum - Akureyri
David Stefansson Memorial Museum - Akureyri
Davíð Stefánsson, also known as Davíð Stefánsson frá Fagraskógi, (born January 21, 1895, Fagriskógur, Eyjafjördur, Iceland—died March 1, 1964, Akureyri), Icelandic poet and novelist, best known as a poet of humanity.
Stefánsson came of a cultured yeoman family and was brought up with a love for his homeland, its literature, and its folklore. He frequently journeyed abroad but lived most of his life in the town of Akureyri, where he was a librarian (1925–52).
He wrote a powerful novel, Sólon Islandus (1940), about a daydreaming 19th-century vagabond whose intellectual ambitions are smothered by society; a successful play, Gullna hliðið (1941; The Golden Gate, 1967, in Fire and Ice: Three Icelandic Plays); and other prose works, but they are overshadowed by his verse.
Stefánsson’s early poetry, including most of his folk themes and love lyrics, appeared in Svartar fjaðrir (1919; “Black Feathers”), Kvæði (1922; “Poems”), Kveðjur (1924; “Greetings”), and Ný Kvæði (1929; “New Poems”), which were combined and published as a collected volume in 1930. His later poetry—darkening in social satire, reformatory zeal against capitalism and organized religion, and despair over the war—was published as Í byggðum (1933; “Among Human Habitations”), Að norðan (1936; “From the North”),
Ný kvæðabók (1947; “A New Book of Poems”), and the posthumous Síðustu ljóð (1966; “Last Poems”). His lyrics often have the delicacy of a cradle song, yet his heroic verse shows the virility of an epic poet.
In the green hills of Akureyri overlooking the Municipal Library lays a house with an exciting history and a unique atmosphere of the ’60s.
David had a taste for the finer things in life and was an enthusiastic collector of art and books. His house is a testament to his taste, full of books, an art collection, and other personal articles, just as he left them in 1964. It is almost as if he is returning in a few minutes.
Opening Hours:
June 1st – August 31st from Monday to Friday:
1 pm until 5 pm
Amenities:
Entrance Fee: Adult ISK 1.200 Free for children under 18 Day pass ISK 2000 Annual Pass ISK. 3..000