• Escape the Heat (August ‘26)
    Lofoten War Memorial Museum in Svolvær occupies the ground floor.
    Lofoten War Memorial Museum in Svolvær occupies the ground floor.Lofoten War Memorial Museum is filled with non-partisan displays.Many of the items on display are personal in nature.Patriotic plate with Churchill and the HMS Warspite ... a Queen Elisabeth class battleship.Instructions for Allied pilots in case of emergency landings in Russia.Helmet worn by a pilot who participated in the sinking of the Tirpitz.German postage stamps.Torpedo survival badges.The "Gestapo Office" at the museum.Jumping jacks created by the Danish Resistance.Norwegian soldier ... 1940 ... from the Narvik front.One of the infamous Enigma code machines.Replica of Göring's presentation pistol ... a luger.Hiding places for radios and headsets ... the dental plate is the most ingenious.Guitar made by a POW from Poland using matchsticks.Top: Norwegian police soldier after liberation; Bottom: "The King is Back (7 June 1945)."Svolvær Church in camo painting as ordered by the Wehrmacht.Many Samis functioned as guides for those fleeing to neutral Sweden.Lofoten War Memorial Museum.The museum prides itself on its collection of never-before published photos.Hitler and generals inspecting Big Gustav; largest caliber rifled weapon ever built.Hitler's failed "Polar Eisenbahn" (Polar Railway) exhibit; the project used prisoner-labor.The work on the failed project, later benefited Norway ... used to bring the railway to Bodø.American products commonly used by soldiers during WWII.Many children in north Norway helped POWs from Serbia and Russia with food.Lofoten War Memorial MuseumTaxidermied Golden Eagle

    SB Day 9: Svolvær … Lofoten Krigsminnemuseum

    August 16 in Norway ⋅ ☁️ 55 °F

    Today’s long stop came late in the day.

    Cruising for three hours after exiting Trollfjord, we were scheduled to arrive in Svolvær in the Lofoten Islands around 6:30p. Since we would be out and about in town during our designated dinner time, we went to the dining room for an early meal.

    Disembarking the ship, we were struck by how quiet it was in town. Ahhh, yes … Sunday! So, when we realized that the Lofoten War Memorial Museum was about the only place open, we ended up spending much of our time there.

    Part of the Museum Nord organization now, it was established as a private museum in 1996 by a man named William Hakvaag. An avid collector of all things related to WWII, he described his museum as “non-partisan.” Indeed we found everything from Norwegian, to German, to Allied Forces in the exhibit.

    Something I didn’t know is that the first WWII raid of any consequence happened in the German-occupied Lofoten Islands on 4 March 1941. Many of the Norwegians who fought in the battle around Narvik was from the Lofotens. Thus, it’s not surprising that the nucleus of the artifacts on exhibit are local and personal.

    Despite the small size of the museum, the collection is incredibly extensive and eclectic. Every nook and cranny is filled with objects from WWII … including what is generally accepted as being Norway’s largest collection of WWII military uniforms.

    If there was any rhyme or reason to the way the displays were set up, it wasn’t immediately apparent to us. Frankly, as interesting as the museum was, it was also a bit overwhelming. We ended up simply wandering around, stopping to read labels when something caught our eye. I’m sure we missed a great deal more than what we actually saw.    Read more