The farm and Museum - Exhibition
The buildings of the farm date from slightly different periods in the 18th- & 19th-centuries. This style of the turf construction was universal in rural areas of Iceland until about 1900, when it was gradually replaced mainly by reinforced concrete, which is typical in most contemporary Icelandic construction today. Extensive turf construction evolved in Iceland owing to the acute shortage of large trees.
Hence the buildings at Glaumbær are comprised of thin shells of wood separated from one another and insulated by thick walls of turf, and roofed with a thick layer of the same material. Icelandic grass grows very thickly, consequently the turf is a strong and enduring combination of roots and soil. A turf building, in districts of moderate rainfall, can last up to a century. The roof must be sloped at the correct angle; if it is too flat, water leaks through and if it is too steep, the turf cracks during spells of dry weather or drains too quickly so the grass does not grow, both resulting in a roof that leaks. The old Icelandic farm was a complex of small separate buildings. The most frequently used were united by a central passageway, while tool & storerooms could only be reached from the outside.
The Glaumbær farm
1. Entrance & Passageway
2. Guest room
3. Kitchen
4. Main pantry
5. Guest room
6-8 "Baðstofa"
9. South door
10. Long pantry
11. Dairy
12. Guest room
13. Storeroom
14. Storeroom
15. Smithy
16. Fuel storeroom
