Tyrfingsstaðir
Most of the Heritage Craft School's courses have been held at Tyrfingsstaðir, located in Kjálki, Skagafjörður. In 2006, an agreement was made with the farm’s residents, Kristín Jóhannsdóttir and Sigurður Marz Björnsson, to integrate traditional craftsmanship education with the restoration and reconstruction of the turf buildings that once stood on the farm. This collaboration created a setting where the preservation of cultural heritage, the teaching of traditional skills, and the maintenance of historical structures go hand in hand.
The Tyrfingsstaðir Project aligns with the mission of the Skagafjörður Heritage Museum to research and preserve the turf heritage of the region. While the Tyrfingsstaðir Project and the Heritage Craft School operate independently, they have greatly benefited from one another. The facilities at Tyrfingsstaðir provided a setting for teaching turf and stone masonry and timber framing, while at the same time allowing for the research, learning, and preservation of a cohesive historic farmstead.
When restoration work began in 2007, all the buildings—except for the cowshed, the old farmhouse, the shed by the yard, and the youngest stable—were in ruins. The aim of the restoration was to preserve as much of the original structure as possible. From the beginning, the method has been to document the entire process: dismantling and cleaning the ruins, the restoration phases, and the final outcome of the rebuilding.
Syðsta-Grund
In 2023 and 2024, restoration work was carried out on the old outbuildings at Syðsta-Grund, located in the former Akrahreppur municipality. These outbuildings were originally used as a cowshed but were later repurposed for horses. During a course in 2023, the walls of the buildings were rebuilt under the supervision and instruction of Helgi Sigurðsson, mason and owner of Fornverk ehf. In the summer of 2024, he also handled repairs to the timber frame.
That same summer, an open house day was held, inviting the public to participate in turf-laying on the buildings, engage in conversation, and learn about turf construction techniques.