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The Westfjords Heritage Museum (Icelandic: Byggðasafn Vestfjarða [ˈpɪɣðaˌsapn ˈvɛstˌfjarða]) is a museum in Ísafjörður in the Westfjords of Iceland.
The museum is based on maritime heritage and gives an insight into the local Westfjords fisheries and fishing industry as well the life of the fishermen, their families and the coastal culture through the centuries.
The museum has made a policy concerning preservation of boats to restore them to their previous condition and to keep them seaworthy. The main focus is also to maintain knowledge and skills concerning their repair and maintenance and make sure that the knowledge is being passed between generations.[1] The museum was opened in Turnhúsið on Fisherman's Day in 1988.[2]
Most of the museum collection consists of various historical things regarding the fisheries and the fishing industry around the Westfjords. Among interesting things is a collection of 190 accordions, a collection of valuable old boats and different things found by divers in the seas around the fjords. The museum is a popular point of interest. Visitors from cruise ships that come to Ísafjörður are frequent guests. A local theatre group dressed in Icelandic national costumes makes a play of the daily life of the beginning 19th century, where they sing and dance to a music and put the fish bacalao out in the sun to dry. In 2013 during the summer opening time, 12,000 visitors came to visit the museum.[3] The Museum is managed by Ísafjarðarbær, Súðavíkurhreppur and Bolungarvíkurkaupstaður.
The museum is open during the summertime.