Árbæjarsafn

thumb|The resident cow prepares to be milked. Árbæjarsafn () is the historical museum of the city of Reykjavík as well as an open-air museum and a regional museum. Its purpose is to give the public an insight into the living conditions, work and recreational activities of the people of Reykjavík in earlier times.

== History == thumb|Old-fashioned haymaking at Arbær Museum. Around the middle of the 20th century, there was growing concern that "old Reykjavík" was disappearing forever. The first efforts to found a museum came in 1942, when the city council was presented with a petition to that effect. The request was well-received, and forwarded for comment to the Reykjavík Society, a group concerning itself with local history. The systematic collection of documents on the town's history began about that time, laying the foundations for the city's archives.