Nonnahús and Nonni - the Honorary Citizen of Akureyri the Capital City of North-Iceland

Nonnahús museum is my favourite museum in Akureyri and a hidden gem in the capital city of North Iceland.

I have such fond memories of visiting this museum when I was a child, and I visit 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 8 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 of her children apart from Manni.

I always greet the statue of Nonni when I visit Akureyri

Then, in 1870, when Nonni was 12 years old, he got the opportunity to go to a Jesuit school in France when a French nobleman offered to pay for the studies 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 and 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, 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 from 1888-1892 in England, where he was ordained a clergyman in 1890.

He then returned to Denmark where he taught at a Catholic school for 20 years as well as being 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 writer of children's books 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 1913-1944 and his books have been translated into approximately 40 languages.

His brother, Manni, plays a big 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 and held lectures and continued to write. He went on a world cruise in 1936, when he was 80 years old and visited 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 held numerous talks about his motherland - and his book Nonni in Japan is a fascinating read.

Nonni held some 5000 talks and sometimes a thousand people would attend his talks.

A screen-shot 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 takes care of Nonni's grave in Cologne with such 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 the life of Nonni.

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 the memory of our beloved Nonni 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 only managed to return to Iceland on 2 occasions until 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 on the occasion of the 1000th anniversary of the Commonwealth held at Þingvellir, but the Vikings established a parliament in 930 at Þingvellir.

During his Iceland visit in 1930, 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 and sticks and stones.

Nonni and his brother Manni would have played with such toys. Times have changed for sure.

The Zontaclub ran the Nonnahús museum for 50 years - or from 1957-2007. Anna S. Snorradóttir was one of the founders of the first Zontaclub.

Old children's toys in the garden by Nonnahús house

She went to the owners of the house and told them about her plans, that she wanted to buy the house and turn it into a museum, but that she had got 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 Zontaclub. What a lovely gesture. 

The Statue of Nonni

Minjakirkjan in Akureyri and the Nonni Statue

There is a big 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 for a while in the old Borgarbókasafn, City Library in Reykjavík. Then it just disappeared.

The Nonni statue up close

Women from the Zontaclub of Akureyri heard of the statue and started looking for it.

One of the Zontaclub'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 Zontaclub tried in vain to find the statue.

Nonni looking out to sea

They decided to ask the nation for help. From 1970-1980 a lot of newspaper articles were published and finally, after so many years, the statue was found hidden away in a hay loft.

The statue was found in the hay loft of Korpúlsstaðir just 15 minutes away from where I used to live in Reykjavík. It was found in a box with the marking "head up" - and it 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 got a place in front of the Nonnahús museum. 

On one of my annual visits to Nonni :)

I just 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 in the wintertime for the first time. I usually don't travel in Iceland in the wintertime, but my husband had a seminar in Akureyri for 5 days 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 have 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 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 years old, he was invited by a French count to go 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 when he had to make 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 on, he became a Jesuit priest and became 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 above is to be found next to the cemetery, where the path to Nonnisteinn rock from above starts. 

Möðruvellir - Nonni's birthplace

Möðruvallakirkja church in Hörgárdalur

Nonni was born in 1857 at Möðruvellir in Hörgárdalur valley, between the towns Dalvík and Akureyri in Eyjafjörður fjord. 

Möðruvellir is a historical place. There used to be an Augustinian monastery at Möðruvellir from 1296 until the Reformation in 1550, and well-known people in Iceland's history lived here at Möðruvellir.

The church at Möðruvellir was once the largest church in Iceland. I love the blue ceiling of Möðruvallakirkja church. It has got some 2,000 stars made of plaster. 

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 town in 1865 when Nonni was a little under 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 big rock with Nonni's name on it and information in 4 languages about Nonni.

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 the boyfriend of my great-aunt at that 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 kind of 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 :)