The Nonnahús museum is my favourite museum in Akureyri and a hidden gem in North Iceland's capital city.
I have such fond memories of visiting this museum when I was a child, and I visit the Nonnahús museum every time I travel up north to Akureyri :)
Top photo: the lovely Nonnahús house
Nonnahús as seen from above
Nonnahús was the childhood home of Jón Stefán Sveinsson (1857-1944), who was called Nonni, but Icelandic men with the name Jón are often called Nonni or Jonni.
Nonni wrote famous children's books about the adventures with his brother Manni.
Nonnahús is one of the oldest houses in Akureyri, built in 1850. It opened as a museum in 1957 on Nonni's 100th anniversary.
Inside Nonnahús house
Nonni was born on the 16th of November 1857 in a turf farm at Möðruvellir in Hörgárdálur valley, not far from Akureyri, and moved in 1865 into Pálshús house in Akureyri (now Nonnahús) with his family when he was 7 years old.
Nonni's parents were Sveinn Þórarinsson and Sigríður Jónsdóttir. Sveinn was the assistant of the regional official Pétur Havsteen, and Sigríður was from Reykjahlíð in Mývatn.
His mother was born in a beautiful part of Iceland, and I have written many travel blogs about the wonderful Mývatn area, which is one of my favourite areas in Iceland.
Wonderful Mývatn
Nonni's father died of echinococcosis in 1869 when Nonni was only 11 years old, and his mother couldn't support her children alone.
They had eight children, but 3 of them died in 1860 when they got diphtheria.
It is so sad how many children died when epidemics swept over Iceland, and I lost many of my relatives that way, both up north in Grenjaðarstaður and Húsavík, and on the Snæfellsnes peninsula, as I have told you in other travel blogs.
Poor Sigríður had to give away all her children except Manni.
I always greet the statue of Nonni when I visit Akureyri
Then, in 1870, when Nonni was 12, he had the opportunity to attend a Jesuit school in France when a French nobleman offered to pay for the education of 2 Icelandic boys.
Nonni left Iceland and only returned a couple of times as a visitor to his beloved country.
And he never saw his mother again. In 1873, she moved to Canada and remarried.
A photo of Nonni's mother, her belongings, and rules
There was a war in Europe between France and Germany, so Nonni had to spend one year in Denmark on his way to France.
In Denmark, he became a Roman Catholic, but the official religion in Iceland is Lutheran.
Nonni studied at the Latin school in Amiens, and in 1878, he became a member of the Jesuit order. He later became a Jesuit priest, the only Icelander to have done so.
This photo of Nonni hangs on the wall in Nonnahús museum
Nonni's brother, Ármann, called Manni, was sent to join Nonni in 1873.
Sadly, Manni died of consumption in 1885, at only 23 years old, while studying abroad.
Nonni travelled widely and studied for 5 years at universities in Holland, France, and Belgium. He then became a teacher at a Catholic school in Denmark.
Nonni's books have been translated into many languages
Nonni studied theology in England from 1888 to 1892, where he was ordained a clergyman in 1890.
He then returned to Denmark, where he taught at a Catholic school for 20 years and served as a missionary.
In Denmark, he met our beloved minister Friðrik Friðriksson and urged him to establish a YMCA in Iceland. I read this recently in the memoirs of Friðrik Friðriksson.
Various books in many languages at Nonnahús
Later on, Nonni lived in Austria, Holland, and Germany and wrote books.
Nonni became a well-known children's book writer and wrote 12 books about his life.
I read all of his books about his childhood when I was a child, and most Icelanders of the older generation have read his books. So to us, he is like a friend of the family :)
Nonni's belongings are on display at Nonnahús.
Nonni wrote his books in German from 1913 to 1944, and his books have been translated into approximately 40 languages.
His brother, Manni, plays a significant role in his books as well.
One of the books is called Nonni and Manni, and a TV series on Nonni and Manni was made in 1988.
The kitchen in Nonnahús
At the Nonnahús museum, you will see his books in different languages on display.
It is so lovely that different nations in the world love his books as much as we Icelanders do :)
Nonni travelled all over the world, held lectures, and continued to write. He went on a world cruise in 1936, when he was 80, visiting Europe, America, Canada, Japan, and China.
Letters, presents, and the psalm book of Nonni are on display at Nonnahús
Nonni's childhood dream had been to visit Japan, and he stayed in Japan for a year.
In Japan, Nonni gave numerous talks about his motherland, and his book, Nonni in Japan, is a fascinating read.
Nonni held some 5,000 talks, and sometimes a thousand people would attend.
A screenshot of the grave of Nonni and Friederika when she was interviewed in a programme on WDR
Nonni in Japan was published in English in 2022. It was beautifully translated from German into English by Friederika Priemer, and she sent me the book from Germany :)
Nonni died on the 16th of October 1944 in a bunker in Cologne and is buried in Melatenfriedhof cemetery.
Friederika has cared for Nonni's grave in Cologne with great love and affection, and we are very grateful to her.
Friederika holding the original book about Nonni in America
She also sent me the book Nonni in America, which I recommend reading if you are interested in Nonni's life.
Friederika also has a website, the Nonni Fanclub in Germany, dedicated to Nonni and his work.
I correspond with her from time to time and hold her in the highest respect for keeping our beloved Nonni's memory alive.
Nonni's room and Nonni's travel chest
Nonni was an avid reader, and in his room, which you can see in my photo above, he read everything he could get his hands on and dreamt of foreign lands. He for sure got his dream fulfilled.
Always an Icelander at heart, Nonni returned to Iceland only 2 times before he died in Cologne in 1944.
His first visit was in 1894 when he traversed Iceland on horseback. He wrote a book about his Iceland visit, A Journey Across Iceland, which is a lovely read.
Inside Nonnahús
Nonni was then invited to Iceland in 1930 for the 1000th anniversary of the Commonwealth held at Þingvellir, but the Vikings established a parliament in 930 at Þingvellir.
During his 1930 visit to Iceland, Nonni was made an Honorary Citizen of Akureyri, a well-deserved title.
The Nonnahús museum is so lovely, as it is like you have come to visit Nonni in his home, as the rooms are preserved as they were when he lived there.
Nonnahús, old toys in the garden
In the garden by Nonnahús, you will see old Icelandic toys, which consisted of sheep bones and horns, sticks, and stones.
Nonni and his brother Manni would have played with such toys. Times have changed for sure.
The Zonta club ran the Nonnahús museum for 50 years, from 1957 to 2007. Anna S. Snorradóttir was one of the founders of the first Zonta club.
Old children's toys in the garden by Nonnahús house
She went to the house owners and told them about her plans: she wanted to buy the house and turn it into a museum, but she had no money.
She wanted to make a museum at Nonnahús, which had become very run-down.
Nonnahús in the snow
The owners of the house donated their house to the Zonta Club. What a lovely gesture.
The Statue of Nonni
Minjakirkjan in Akureyri and the Nonni Statue
There is a large statue of Nonni, 2.5 meters high, in front of the Nonnahús museum. It was made by one of our female sculptors, Nína Sæmundsson, in 1957.
The statue was located in the old Borgarbókasafn, City Library in Reykjavík, for a while. Then it just disappeared.
The Nonni statue up close
Women from the Zonta Club of Akureyri heard about the statue and began searching for it.
One of the Zonta Club's goals is to preserve the memory of Nonni, the Honorary Citizen of Akureyri.
After the statue was moved from the City Library in 1982, nobody knew where it was. The women in the Zonta Club tried in vain to find the statue.
Nonni looking out to sea.
They decided to ask the nation for help. From 1970 to 1980, many newspaper articles were published, and, after so many years, the statue was finally found hidden away in a hay loft.
The statue was found in the hay loft at Korpúlsstaðir, just 15 minutes from where I used to live in Reykjavík. It was found in a box marked "head up" and was completely intact.
The information plaques by the Nonni statue
The Zontagroup received the Nonni statue as a present and decided to cast it in bronze.
The statue was sent to Germany and inaugurated in 1994, where it was placed in front of the Nonnahús museum.
On one of my annual visits to Nonni :)
I love this statue, and I greet Nonni and have my picture taken with it every time I visit Akureyri, so by now I have quite a collection of Nonni photos; the one I have added of me and Nonni is from 2018 :)
In 2024, I visited Akureyri for the first time in the wintertime. I usually don't travel in Iceland in the wintertime, but my husband taught a 5-day seminar in Akureyri, and I roamed around taking photos.
Minjakirkjan á Akureyri is next to Nonnahús - it looked very pretty in the snow
Akureyri looked like a postcard during my visit. Everything was covered in beautiful white snow, and I took a myriad of photos.
As I was alone then, I only had a "selfie" of Nonni and me from that visit ;)
Nonnasteinn - the Nonni rock
The Nonni trail and information sign on Nonni
Nonnasteinn rock is named after Jón Sveinsson, or Nonni as he was called. It is a big rock on Höfði above the Nonnahús museum.
The information sign in my photo above shows the beginning of the path to Nonnasteinn rock from below.
By Nonnasteinn rock in 2013
When Nonni was 11, a French count invited him to France to study at a Catholic college.
Nonni wanted to study and see the world, but on the other hand, he didn't want to part with his mother and siblings.
In his book Nonni, he describes his emotions as he made this big decision.
By Nonnasteinn rock in 2017
He stood on the slope above his home, and while looking out at the sea, he saw a sailboat.
"I could not stop thinking about this little sailboat. I sat on a rock, which stood out from the fragrant grass, and let my feelings and thoughts loose.
In my troubles and agony of my soul, I sighed and gasped out: "Oh, dear God! What should I do?"
Nonni then went to Germany and later became a Jesuit priest, known as Pater Jón Sveinsson.
The information sign on Nonni
You can see a lovely drawing of Nonni sitting on this rock looking at the sea. The information sign is next to the cemetery, where the path to Nonnisteinn rock from above begins.
Möðruvellir - Nonni's birthplace
Möðruvallakirkja church in Hörgárdalur
Nonni was born in 1857 at Möðruvellir in Hörgárdalur, between the towns of Dalvík and Akureyri in Eyjafjörður fjord.
Möðruvellir is a historical place. There was an Augustinian monastery at Möðruvellir from 1296 until the Reformation in 1550, and well-known people in Iceland's history lived here.
The church at Möðruvellir was once the largest in Iceland. I love the blue ceiling of Möðruvallakirkja church. It has got some 2,000 plaster stars.
Inside Möðruvallakirkja church in Hörgárdalur
Another church with the same name, Möðruvallakirkja, is in Eyjafjörður, see my travel blog Eyjafjörður Fjord in North-Iceland - Historical Churches.
Nonni's family moved from Möðruvellir to Akureyri in 1865, when Nonni was about 7-8 years old. Nonni's father died only 4 years later of hydatid disease, as I told you earlier in this travel blog.
By the Nonni memorial grove at Möðruvellir
There is a memorial grove at Möðruvellir in honour of Nonni. In it, you will find a large rock with Nonni's name on it and information about Nonni in 4 languages.
Nonni's ideal was to: "Give joy to others and strengthen their faith in all which is beautiful and good in this world" - it doesn't get better than that.
You can listen to a report on Nonni in German on Radio Vatican.
A photo of Nonni in Akureyri, taken in 1930 - photographer Eðvarð Sigurgeirsson
The above photo of Nonni I found in my great-aunt Regína's photo collection.
It was taken in 1930 in Akureyri by the photographer Eðvarð Sigurgeirsson, who was my great-aunt's boyfriend at the time.
Minjakirkjan church by Nonnahús in the summertime
If you ever visit Eyjafjörður and its capital city, Akureyri, then do look for the Nonnahús museum. It is so worth it.
It is hidden from view, so one has to really look for it.
Nonni in the wintertime
There is a lovely small old church by the museum, and you will notice the large statue of Nonni by the street.
To visit North Iceland, you can rent a car in Reykjavík and drive up to Akureyri in one day - it is around 388 km.
Nonnahús
I have written a couple of other travel blogs about lovely Akureyri:
Eyjafjörður - Akureyri, the Capital City of Eyjafjörður
Wonderfully Colourful Fairytale Figures in Akureyri in North Iceland
Humpback Whales in Abundance on a Whale Watching Tour from Akureyri in North Iceland
Have a lovely time visiting Akureyri and Nonnahús Museum :)
