Technical Museum

The town of Seydisfjordur (until recently spelt Seydhisfjordur) lies 400 km north-east of Reykjavik. The technical museum that illustrates many aspects of the history of the region has three principal exhibits that relate to the industrial heritage. The mechanical engineering workshop of Johann Hansson was established in 1907 and used hydro-electric power for the operation of its machine tools. It was principally concerned with the production of fishing equipment. A foundry was added in 1918, and in 1967 the company diversified into shipbuilding. It ceased operation in 1993. The original building of 1907 is preserved, including the cupola furnace for melting iron installed in 1918.

The Old Telegraph Station was adapted from the house built in 1894 by a wealthy Norwegian when a submarine cable was laid linking Iceland with the Faroe Islands, Scotland and the rest of the world. Much of the original equipment remains, and displays illustrate the epic task carried out by a labour force of some 300 men of constructing a line of 14,000 telegraph poles carrying a line from the terminal of the undersea cable to Reykavik.

The third principal component of the museum is Fjardarselsvirkjun, the first hydro-electric power station in Iceland, erected in 1913. The turbine, by J M Woeth of Würtemburg, was powered from a 50 m head of water. The generator is by Siemens & Schuckert, and a later turbine was by R T Gilkes and Gordon of Kendal in England.