Herring Era Museum
Maritime museum in Siglufjörður, Iceland
The Herring Era Museum (Icelandic: Síldarminjasafnið á Siglufirði [ˈsiltarˌmɪnjaˌsapnɪð auː ˈsɪklʏˌfɪrðɪ]) is located in Siglufjörður, Iceland. It is Iceland's largest maritime museum and the only Icelandic museum to have won the European Museum Award. The museum officially opened in 1994 in Róaldsbrakki, an old salting station which had been left abandoned after the collapse of the herring stock in 1969. Additionally two more buildings have been built for the museums exhibitions since then. Also, the museum owns the Old Slipway down by the harbour. Siglufjörður used to be the center of the herring fisheries in Iceland, and the herring played a very large role in the nations economy and industry, providing as much as 44% of the nations export income during some years. As of 2023, ticket prices for adults are 2.200 ISK; seniors and youth (under 20) 1.200 ISK; children (under 16) free, accompanied by adults; groups (of 10 or more) 1.800 ISK.
History
Many towns, villages and areas along the north and east coast of Iceland that were deeply affected by the arrival of the herring adventure but nowhere did the herring adventure have such an impact as in Siglufjörður. Norwegian fishermen came sailing on their herring vessels during the summer of 1903, and thereby the Herring Adventure had started. Within forty years this once tiny little village had transformed into a thriving town of more than three thousand inhabitants. For years the entire life of Siglufjörður centred on the herring catch and its processing - the town's twenty-three salting stations and five reducing factories were a living reminder of that.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Herring Era Museum” as maritime museum in Siglufjörður, Iceland. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the places & architecture register because the source frames it as maritime museum in Siglufjörður, Iceland. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
The strongest evidence will usually combine a dated visual record with documents produced by the authority responsible for the place. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 22, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q15767978. VIAF identifies the subject as 3051155566457913380002. The Library of Congress control number is nb2019008137. Authority coordinates are 66.148, -18.913. 2 of 5 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1994, 1969, 2023 and 1903.
Modern boundaries and familiar names can conceal earlier jurisdictions or structures that do not align with the present site. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Herring Era Museum”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Herring Era Museum primary sources, Herring Era Museum archive and Herring research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Herring Era Museum”?
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- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Herring Era Museum” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.