East Iceland Emigration Center

The East Iceland Emigration Center is located at Kaupvangur Cultural Center.

The East Iceland Emigration Center is an organization of volunteers interested in re-establishing contact with the descendants of the people who left East and Northeast Iceland (primarily Vopnafjörður, North- and South-Múlasýsla, Þistilfjörður) after the eruption of Askja in 1875.

Genealogical services are offered where people receive help with searching for relatives and seek connections to the present. Assistance is also offered in preparing a visit to Iceland where people can meet their relatives here and get to their ancestral sites.

Every year, Western Icelanders from Canada and the United States - sometimes even from Brazil - come to Vopnafjörður and other places in Austurland. People get the feeling that they are returning home. Standing in their area of origin, they look at the environment, mountains, rivers, and lakes, often with tears in their eyes. People either come alone or in small groups, generally well-informed and often with family history, genealogies, and family photos in their possession.

Opening hours:
Monday and Thursday: 10-17
Other times: We will gladly meet visitors upon request

This summer’s exhibit: “Sails, Rails, Rivers and Trails” - “Sigld, gengið, riðið og rúllað í lest” is  open from May 25 until the end of August. The subject is the journey of the emigrants - how did they get from Iceland to North America, not to mention Brazil? Visitors are invited to experience this journey for themselves - in the form of images and text focusing on the ships, the trains, even larger ships over the Atlantic, and again the trains, wagons and even by walking as they made their way to Curitiba, Utah, Minnesota, North Dakota, Manitoba and north to New Iceland.