The Icelandic Sheep Dog
The Icelandic Sheepdog, the national dog of Iceland, has accompanied the Icelandic people since the settlement era and is an inseparable part of the country's history and culture. In 2025, we will open a unique exhibition at Lýtingsstaðir in Skagafjörður, dedicated to this remarkable breed and its story. Come and experience this extraordinary exhibition - history, knowledge, and a truly memorable experience await you!
BLOG
A Journey to Iceland
Earlier this fall, a man called me - Vilhjálmur Örn Vilhjálmsson, an Icelandic archaeologist and blogger, living in Denmark. The conversation was very interesting and we mostly talked about that remarkable man Mark Watson. Vilhjálmur had met Watson during his childhood: "He once came home to my father and bought an old map of Iceland from him. Watson was offered coffee and cake. He was among the taller men and had a particularly tall head compared to my father, and men with such heads often had to be searched for extensively in Iceland," he writes in one [blog post](https://fornleifur.blog.is/blog/fornleifur/entry/2279685/). Then Vilhjálmur told me about buying a box on eBay because its contents aroused his curiosity: "...it contained a complete series of images and accompanying notes for stereoscopic photographs, 8x8 cm in size." The series was titled **A Journey to Iceland**. The box contained 35 stereoscopic images from the 1930s. It turned out that the images had belonged to Mark Watson and had been shown at the World's Fair in New York in 1939. Vilhjálmur assembled the images into a video and uploaded it to YouTube so that you can watch the images as they were shown at the time during a lecture in New York. [See here](https://youtu.be/Yc84jF3NEMw?si=7keUS0cfeFVWi9B2). It is also interesting to read [Watson's notes for the lecture](https://fornleifur.blog.is/users/5c/fornleifur/files/iceland_lecture_0001_21343.pdf) that came with the box. The notes are typed but Watson also handwrote additions on them. Image no. 29 (shown above) is of an Icelandic dog. About the dog he writes: "A dog more famous than the english sheepdog. Came with first settlers? Will work a mile from master, by signals. Though part of the family never sleeps indoors; below window even in snow. Even Shakespeare mentions it in Henry V, Act2 Sc.1 "The Iceland Cur". Friendly to foreigners, proves well treated. Size of Foxterrier, generally cream, or black and white." Watson's interest in the dog was already sparked during these years, though he did not undertake the rescue efforts until 1955. More about the origin of the images that Watson took mainly in 1937 can be read in an article by Anna Snorradóttir published (in Icelandic) in [Lésbók Morgunblaðsins in 1988.](https://timarit.is/page/3307270?iabr=on#page/n35/mode/2up) Vilhjálmur's phone call was truly interesting and gave me even more knowledge about Watson and his love for Iceland and the Icelandic dog. I thank Vilhjálmur warmly for getting in touch and telling me about the stereoscopic image box and especially for the opportunity to see the images in the YouTube video that he put together.
As autumn arrives
As autumn arrives, it's a good time to take stock. It's been planned for a while, but now winter seems to be here. Snow is falling in most parts of the country, though the least amount of snowfall is here in the north. The picture above aptly represents what happened during the autumn days. In the September issue of "Kennel Gazette" from the British dog breeders' association, The Kennel Club, a three-page article appeared featuring an interview with me and plenty of photos from the opening of the Icelandic Sheepdog Heritage Center. This is fantastic, especially considering the growing interest in the Icelandic Sheepdog in Britain after the breed was recognized by the association this year. Now it's finally possible to breed and show Icelandic Sheepdogs in Britain. In September, Darren Adam from RÚV English Radio interviewed me again. This time, we walked through the Heritage Center together and discussed what was on display. [You can listen to the interview here](https://www.ruv.is/english/2025-09-29-ruv-english-radio-the-icelandic-sheepdog-heritage-centre-454737). While I remember, there was a feature on RÚV's evening news in the summer that I meant to mention. [You can watch the news here.](https://www.ruv.is/english/2025-07-06-museum-dedicated-to-the-icelandic-sheepdog-opens-in-north-iceland-447787) My research partner in Denmark, Jørgen Metzdorff (see [www.naskur.dk](http://www.naskur.dk)), gave me a generous gift: another copy of Mark Watson's book "The Iceland Dog 874-1956," for which I am very grateful. I also received the book "Hundurinn minn" by Watson, which I have searched for a long time, and "The Icelandic Sheepdog" by Gísli Pálsson. Jørgen also gave me stamps for my collection. Thank you, Jørgen. These gifts are much appreciated! I wrote an article for the German magazines of the "Deutsch-Isländische Gesellschaft e.V Köln" and "Freunde Islands e.V. Hamburg" about the initiation and execution of the Icelandic Sheepdog project. On that occasion, I gathered figures and found that around 2,500 people have visited the Heritage Center from its opening in May until the end of September. This is quite good. This number includes people who came specifically to see the exhibition, as well as those who unexpectedly stopped by and viewed the exhibition on their way to horse rental or while staying with us. All tour bus groups have access to the exhibition. Maybe not everyone explored the exhibition in great detail, but at least I've introduced the Icelandic Sheepdog to all those people. Last week, about 70 people visited in connection with the tourism harvest festival in North Iceland. It was fun to introduce the Heritage Center as a novelty to our colleagues in North Iceland. What's next? To complete several projects in the building, which has been named Hraunkot (after my bitch, Hraundís), put up more pictures, and create a folder with all the newspaper articles from the summer. I also need to review other materials I have acquired over the summer. I have more ideas to improve the exhibition, but it requires a lot of work. I’ll update on that when it happens.
Award
Last week, we received an award from the Municipality of Skagafjörður for “An Exceptional Initiative "– The Icelandic Sheepdog Heritage Center". In the statement it says: "After two and a half years of research and preparation, the family at Lýtingsstaðir opened The Icelandic Sheepdog Heritage Center, in a specially designed building in May of this year. This is a unique exhibition about the history of the Icelandic sheepdog, with the aim of preserving and sharing knowledge about this distinctly Icelandic breed, giving it space, and making it visible and accessible. At the center, visitors can learn about the history of dogs in Iceland, from the settlement period to modern times, about folklore, and also stories of famous dogs. One can also watch a variety of videos and documentaries, view old photographs and engravings, browse through books, read old documents and letters, and discover the softness of yarn spun from dog hair. Three Icelandic sheepdogs on the farm form a cheerful welcoming committee. The Icelandic Sheepdog Heritage Center has attracted great interest from both Icelanders and foreign visitors, in addition to being featured in the media. The Icelandic Sheepdog Heritage Center is a living testament to how passion, respect, and sustainability can come together in an exceptional initiative that preserves cultural heritage for future generations." We are very proud of this recognition and sincerely thankful.
CONTACT
Lýtingsstaðir, 561 Varmahlíð.
561 Varmahlíð
Phone: +354 893 3817
[email protected]
