Lenvik Museum

About the museum

Lenvik Museum is housed in the old rectory from 1885 at Bjorelvnes, about 15 kilometres north of Finnsnes in Senja municipality. The rectory originally had a main building, a stabbur (storehouse), a borgerstue (living room) and a cowshed. At the end of the 19th century Bjorelvnes was the centre of the parish, with the priest, the sexton, the local sheriff (lensmann) and the doctor nearby, but settlement gradually moved towards Finnsnes, and the centre became a periphery.

The priest moved away from the farm in 1963, and the buildings stood empty until renovation work began in 1983. The museum opened to the public on St John's Eve (Midsummer) 1985. The rectory complex has exhibitions on church and religious history, a library and storage rooms, and in the main building there is a basement room with a hearth and bread oven where visitors can learn to bake, separate milk and churn butter.

Coastal culture is central. At the quay, the jetty, the sea huts and the boathouse, visitors can get close to the boats, including five Nordland boats of the bindalsfæring type built by boatbuilder Gunnar Eldjarn. The museum offers rowing and sailing courses for school classes and others, and overnight stays in the sea huts. The collections are largely digitised, including around 40,000 transcribed pages of source material.

Highlights

• Rectory from 1885 with exhibitions on church and religion
• Coastal culture with quay, jetty, sea huts and boathouse
• Nordland boats of the bindalsfæring type
• Bread oven and butter churning in the basement
• Digitised source material and book scanner

Permanent exhibition

• Utstillinger i prestegården – Exhibitions on church and religious history in the old rectory, with a library, storage rooms and a basement room with a hearth and bread oven.

Founded

1985

Operated by

Midt-Troms Museum

Admission & discounts

Payment by Vipps (mobile payment), bank card or cash.

Accessibility

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Kids & families

• Family tours & workshops
• Hands-on stations

Children pay NOK 20. The museum has activities for kindergartens and schools, and visitors can learn to bake and churn butter.

Getting there & parking

The museum is located at Bjorelvnes, about 15 kilometres north of Finnsnes.

Amenities & dining

The sea huts and the jetty loft have modern facilities and can accommodate a school class overnight.

Events & venue rental

• Spaces for rent

Sea huts and Nordland boats are rented out from 18 May 2027; enquiries on +47 468 77 545 or havard.klausen@mtmu.no. The museum prefers bookings via Booking.com.

Plan your visit