Þórður Tómasson

Þórður Tómasson was born in 1921 at Vallnatún in South Iceland and as he was growing up he quickly developed an interest for folkloristics and the cultural heritage of Iceland. Þórður was young when he started to collect old artifacts from his surroundings that were often considered to be outdated and of no value by his contemporaries.

Initially Þórður Tómasson took responsibility for the museum, and in 1959 he was appointed as curator. He was an organist in two churches and for many years he was a member of the parish councils of both. For ten years he was also a member of the Rangárvellir county council. In 1997 Þórður was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Iceland for his contribution to research in the public interest.

Þórður was one of the most knowledgeable scholars in Icelandic cultural heritage and folkloristics. He has written many books and articles about the subject. The artifacts that he collected and researched over the years is of great value for the cultural heritage of Iceland. For over 60 years Þórður also took an active part in greeting the visitors of the museum. He would gladly guide people around the museum and usually he would end the visit singing and playing the harmonium. Þórður's heritage and lifes work can be seen in Skógar Museum.

Þórður Tómasson passed away the 27th of January 2022. From all of us here we express our sincere condolences.

Here you can see a documentary from the year 2002 about Skógar Museum with Þórður Tómasson as guide.