Four historians have presented their ideas for a turf farm hotel to the parliament’s Thingvellir committee, a living museum where tourists can travel up to 1,000 years back in time. The historians have founded a company to execute their idea, called Stórsaga.

From Thingvellir. Photo by Páll Stefánsson.

The historians are especially interested in the area Skógarhólar, which currently has facilities for horseback riders passing through Thingvellir.

In addition to the turf farm, they are keen on building a small church, cowshed, smithy and a parliament camp, Morgunbladid reports.

During the day, tourists can observe how the Icelandic settlers lived and at night the area would be used to accommodate tourists. That way, people can experience how Icelanders used to live for centuries.

“We want to present history to travelers in a new way. The traveler comes to a place where he or she can buy accommodation and food which was available 1,000 years ago and understand what it was really like to live in Iceland from the settlement to the 20th century,” said one of the historians, Svava Lóa Stefánsdóttir.

She and her partners have put considerable effort into preparing their project. For example, they traveled to Denmark to examine a village which is based on the same principle. The preparations are almost finished and now a search for funding and investors is about to begin.

The Thingvellir committee is responsible for the future development of Thingvellir National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site where Iceland’s parliament was founded in 930 AD. The historical Hotel Valhöll at Thingvellir was destroyed in a fire last summer.

Click here to read more about suggestions for the development of Thingvellir.