Eldheimar Museum

Eldheimar Museum in Vestmannaeyjar, Iceland, preserves a house buried during the 1973 eruption, showcasing the eruption’s impact and the island’s recovery.

Planning your visit

Eldheimar is built around a single house, and that house is still where it fell. On 23 January 1973 a fissure opened without warning on Heimaey, the only inhabited island of the Vestmannaeyjar group, a few hundred metres from the town. The entire population of around 5,300 was evacuated overnight by the fishing fleet, which happened to be in harbour because of bad weather — a coincidence that almost certainly saved lives. The eruption ran for five months, burying some 400 buildings under ash and lava and enlarging the island by more than two square kilometres.

The museum was constructed directly over one excavated house, dug out of the tephra in 2005 and left exactly as found: collapsed roof, buckled walls, interior packed with volcanic debris. Walkways circle it, and the audio guide follows the family who lived there. The wider exhibition covers the evacuation, the extraordinary operation to pump seawater onto the advancing lava front to save the harbour — which worked — and the return of most residents afterwards.

A separate section covers Surtsey, the island that erupted out of the sea nearby in 1963 and is now a closed scientific reserve tracking how life colonises new land.

Reaching Heimaey means a ferry from Landeyjahofn or a short flight, and the crossing is weather-dependent. The main booking is an entry ticket with audio guide, which is essential here — the house is silent without it. Current availability is shown below.