Hurtigruten Museum

The small town of Stokmarknes on the Vesterålen archipelago on Norway’s northwest coast is famous as the headquarters of the Hurtigruten shipping line. Hurtigruten was founded in 1893 to operate voyages along Norway’s western and northern coast between Bergen and Kirkenes, and still does to this day. In 1999, the Hurtigruten Museum became the new home of the old MS Finnmark after the ship ceased operations on this important route. Engineering firm Peab in collaboration with Oslo-based LINK Arkitektur will create a renewed Hurtigruten Museum for the MS Finnmark. Built in 1956, the MS Finnmark has been described as the world’s biggest museum artefact and will be the centrepiece of the new visitor experience. Work has been undertaken to restore the existing buildings on site and a new glass and steel building will house the ship indoors for the first time, protecting it from the harsh elements. Kvorning Design and Bright Norway were selected to create the new exhibition design for the space. Construction on the museum was completed in 2020 but the opening was delayed until August 28 2021. (Updated 1 April 2021)