SB Day 9: Svolvær … Lofoten Krigsminnemuseum

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