Petra's Stone Collection
Steinasafn Petru
A home museum in the village of Stöðvarfjörður displaying the lifelong rock, mineral, and crystal collection of Ljósbjörg Petra María Sveinsdóttir, roughly 70% of it gathered locally in East Iceland. The stones are arranged throughout Petra's former house, Sunnuhlíð, and its garden, alongside her collections of stuffed birds, eggs, and shells.
Region
East Iceland
Coordinates
64.8354° N, 13.8806° W
Plan the stop
- Allow
- 1 hr 30 min
Accessibility
- Wheelchair · Partial
- The garden and ground-level display areas are generally navigable, but the museum occupies a historic private home where some interior rooms and thresholds may have steps; staff assist visitors where possible.
- Limited mobility · Partial
- Most viewing is low exertion, but thresholds, rooms in a former home, and garden surfaces may require assistance.
- Sensory · Partial
- Dense displays, indoor rooms, and visually busy collections may be overwhelming for some visitors.
- Cognitive · Partial
- A compact museum, but the quantity of objects and domestic-room layout may need slow pacing.
Why it matters
Petra began collecting stones in earnest in 1946 and, after her husband's death in 1974, opened her home to the public, turning a private passion pursued over more than 60 years of wandering East Iceland's mountains and valleys into one of the region's most distinctive museums. It remains a well-known example of an Icelandic amateur natural-history collection preserved in its original domestic setting.