Gjenreisningsmuseet

Western Finnmark


Hammerfest's Reconstruction Museum is a great little museum, with particularly thoughtful and sensitive panels and captions (each section has a synopsis in English). It recounts the forced evacuation and decimation of the town during the Nazi retreat in 1944; the hardships that its citizens endured through the following winter; and Hammerfest's postwar reconstruction and regeneration.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Western Finnmark attractions

1. Hammerfest Kirke

0.06 MILES

The design of Hammerfest's contemporary church, consecrated in 1961, was inspired by the racks used for drying fish in the salty sea air all across…

2. Kulturbanken Galleri

0.13 MILES

Local artist Eva Arnesen designed the Nobel Peace Prize diploma that was awarded to Jody Williams and the campaign to ban landmines. Arnesen's paintings…

3. Polar Bear Carvings

0.13 MILES

This handsome pair of carved and silvered polar bears on Rådhus Plass were fashioned by woodcarver Knut Arnesen.

4. Royal & Ancient Polar Bear Society

0.17 MILES

Dedicated to preserving Hammerfest culture, the Royal & Ancient Polar Bear Society (founded in 1963) features exhibits on Arctic hunting and local history…

5. Salen Hill

0.21 MILES

For panoramic views over the town, coast and mountains (there's a free pair of binoculars for you to sweep the bay), climb Salen Hill (86m), topped by the…

6. Statue of Adolf Henrik Lindstrøm

0.26 MILES

Adolf Henrik Lindstrøm was a Hammerfest-born cook who accompanied Roald Amundsen and Fridtjof Nansen (among others) and ended up travelling on more polar…

7. St Michaels Catholic Church

0.28 MILES

With a strong claim to being the world's most northerly Catholic church, St Michaels, serving a congregation of barely 90 souls, is immediately…

8. Arktisk Kulturhuset

0.3 MILES

Hammerfest's newly minted Kulturhuset is worth a brief visit, simply to savour its striking architecture. Within, there's a theatre, a couple of cinemas…