The Icelandic Sheepdog Heritage Center in Skagafjörður is a unique exhibition dedicated to the national dog of Iceland. The center’s mission is to preserve and share the history of the Icelandic Sheepdog and make it visible and accessible to everyone.

The center opened in May 2025 after three years of preparatory work by cultural scientist Evelyn Ýr, who lives at Lýtingsstaðir. Visitors can read the dog’s history (in Icelandic, English, German, and French), watch documentaries, view historical photographs and artworks, browse books, the name and color database, watch dogs in close up videos, and listen to stories. The farm’s Icelandic Sheepdogs are a particularly delightful welcoming committee.

The Old Stable
Inspired by the farm’s history, the family at Lýtingsstaðir had a horse stable, a storehouse, and a corral built in the traditional way from turf in 2015. The buildings are masterpieces of Icelandic craftsmanship. The exhibition in the turf houses tells the story of how horses were kept in the past and how the histories of people and horses in Iceland are intertwined.

An audio guide (in Icelandic, English, German, and French) is available to enrich your visit. The tour takes about 30 minutes and is suitable for ages 6 and up. Guided tours for groups are also available.

Lýtingsstaðir
The story of Lýtingsstaðir dates back to the Settlement Age, when a man named Lýtingur established a farm on the land. The farm was a manor for many centuries, and the historic parish, Lýtingsstaðahreppur, bore its name. An annex church stood at Lýtingsstaðir from the 11th to the 18th century and was later used as a þinghús (assembly house), which remained in use into the 20th century. The assembly house and the farmhouse were built of turf with timber paneling. The sheep- and horsestables were turf structures with wooden gables. Unfortunately, none of these old buildings survive today, but the turf buildings completed in 2015 offer a vivid sense of life on the farm in earlier times.

Lýtingsstaðir has hosted visitors since 2000 alongside traditional farming and offers horseback riding, accommodation, farm visits and the program Horses&Heritage for groups, that highlight Icelandic cultural heritage: the Icelandic horse, Icelandic architecture, and the Icelandic Sheepdog.