Gjenreisningsmuseet for Finnmark og Nord-Troms

About the museum

Gjenreisningsmuseet for Finnmark og Nord-Troms (the Reconstruction Museum for Finnmark and Nord-Troms) is located in Kirkegata in Hammerfest and tells the story of one of the most dramatic periods in Northern Norwegian history. In the autumn of 1944 Finnmark and Nord-Troms were forcibly evacuated and burned by the German forces, and some 23,000 people became refugees in their own country. After the war, people had to rebuild houses, fisheries and communities almost from the ground up.

The main exhibition covers the region’s history over 10,000 years. It begins with archaeological finds from the Stone Age at Slettnes and Melkøya, continues to the multicultural people of Sámi, Kven and Norwegians, and then shows the dramatic end of the war, the forced evacuation, the time in caves and turf huts (gammer) and the reconstruction.

The museum also includes the open-air museum Fuglenesodden in Hammerfest. There stand a hut (brakke), a boathouse (naust) and an oil house that were moved from Melkøya. Such huts were erected just after the war to give people shelter, and many lived in them well into the 1960s. The museum is part of Museene for kystkultur og gjenreisning i Finnmark (the Museums of Coastal Culture and Reconstruction in Finnmark).

Key themes

• Main exhibition on the war, the forced evacuation in 1944 and the reconstruction
• Archaeological finds from the Stone Age at Slettnes and Melkøya
• Stories of the Sámi, Kven and Norwegians in Finnmark
• The Fuglenesodden open-air museum with a hut, boathouse and oil house from Melkøya
• Offers for school classes and kindergartens

Permanent exhibitions

• Hovedutstillingen – The story of Finnmark and Nord-Troms from the Stone Age to the reconstruction after the war, with the themes of the Arctic Stone Age, the multicultural people, the end of the war, the forced evacuation and life on the run.
• Fuglenesodden friluftsmuseum – A hut, boathouse and oil house from Melkøya, showing how people lived after the war.

Founded

1998

Operated by

Museene for kystkultur og gjenreisning i Finnmark IKS

Admission & discounts

Guided tours for school classes and kindergartens are free of charge.

Accessibility

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Kids & families

Only partly suitable for kids

• Family tours & workshops

School programmes for all year levels and for kindergartens. Children under 18 have free admission.

Getting there & parking

The Fuglenesodden open-air museum has its visitor address at Skansen 3, 9600 Hammerfest.

Amenities & dining

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit