Snorrastofa in Reykholt
Borgarfjörður · Medieval history
Explore the medieval site and exhibition about Snorri Sturluson. Check the visitor center’s opening hours before visiting.
- 1 hr visit
- 33 km from Borgarnes as the crow flies
A writer at the center of power
Reykholt was Snorri Sturluson’s home: a place where medieval literature, learning and political ambition met.
Snorri Sturluson moved to Reykholt in 1206. He was a writer and scholar, but also a chieftain whose influence reached across Iceland and into Norway. His Edda and Heimskringla helped preserve stories of Norse mythology, poetry and the Norwegian kings.
The setting was a center of learning as well as power, with clergy and learned people around him. Snorri’s political entanglements eventually ended violently: he was killed at Reykholt in 1241. Today, Snorrastofa interprets his life and the medieval site. Read this before walking around Reykholt and its monuments: the quiet village once belonged to a much larger network of ideas, loyalties and rivalries.
Sources: snorrastofa.is, snorrastofa.is, snorrastofa.is
