Sømna Bygdetun highlights how the lives of fishermen-farmers and their families changed in the course of the years 1800–1950.
The open-air museum is located next to Sømna Church in Gamle Vik, a church site dating back to the medieval period. The main focus is on agriculture and culinary culture, reflected in the architecture and exhibits. The garden, originally established in 1912, has been reconstructed and can be visited along with the kitchen garden, which features ancient grain varieties, traditional crops, herbs, and vegetables. Read More
The Norwegian Aquaculture Centre is beautifully situated by Toftsundet. The actual fish farm is reached by a gangway from the shore. This is the place to learn more about the fascinating life cycle of salmon, and the pioneering work that made Norwegian aquaculture such an international success.
The success story of salmon farming
Knowledgeable guides will lead you on a journey through the many chapters of modern fish farming, and the story’s environmental context. The tour makes use of mini-aquariums as well as underwater cameras. You will witness feeding, hear about the development of salmon from fertilised fish egg to sexual maturity, and see how it is cared for during the various stages of its life. Naturally you are welcome to visit at any time of the year. Read More
Bindal Museum at Terråk documents local forestry, boatbuilding and other wood-working traditions. It contrasts past and present practices. The museum also includes Bindal Bygdetun, an open-air museum at an authentic old croft at Vassås, 2.5 km north of Terråk.
A fine example of local boatbuilding traditions is bindalsfæringen, a four-oared wooden boat often outfitted with a square sail. You can also see other traditional boats of the Nordland region. There is also a small collection of Sámi objects that yield insights into the livelihoods and culture of these indigenous people of the Arctic. Read More
The largest eider duck nesting site on the Helgeland coast is situated in the Vega World Heritage area. You can join us on a visit to the island of Lånan, where the nesting eider ducks and their bird guardians have a trusting and mutually beneficial relationship.
A unique heritage
Each year the bird guardians prepare the nesting huts and seaweed nests for the arrival of the eider ducks. And the guardians protect the nesting ducks from predators such as eagles, otters and mink. When the eider and their hatchlings leave, the bird guardians can harvest their reward from the nests: the world’s finest down! Visitors who come to Vega in June or July have the privilege of witnessing this fascinating interaction. Read More
Halibutskole Vandve offers a holiday stay where you’ll have some really great fishing opportunities. Guests who appreciate the arts and creative crafts will be pleased to know that a glassblower has a workshop nearby.
Adventures and activities
Vandve is a relatively flat island in Dønna municipality – in fact, its highest point rises only 27 metres above sea level. The seas along the scenic Helgeland coast are renowned for offering some of the best fishing in all of Norway. The waters around the island of Vandve are known to offer especially good catches of halibut, turbot and plaice, but also many other fish species. Read More
The old trading post at Nordvika is one of the oldest and most intact in all of Nordland County. The museum is beautifully situated between towering mountains on the island of Dønna, just a ferry ride from its nearest town, Sandnessjøen.
The buildings of the trading post included an inn, a school, a post office, a steamship quay, and a manned telephone station that people would visit to make long-distance calls to other parts of Norway. In its heyday in the 1880s, the trading post played a key role in the coastal trade with Bergen, which was the hub of Norway’s export and import activities. Read More
This rural museum, situated on the beautiful island of Herøy in Helgeland, documents the local culture and history. The museum consists of a compete farmstead, altogether seven buildings dating from the period 1745–1890, all of which are protected or listed as worthy of preservation.
The buildings include the farmhouse “Borgstua”, a storehouse (stabbur), a barn, a root cellar, boathouse, wharf and a fish shed (“Flæsbua”). The museum, which has an extensive collection of old objects, documents 1500 years of local history. Read More
In a charming wooden house from 1852, on Sjøgata street in the historic heart of Mosjøen, you will find Galleri Stokland. On display are colourful artworks, knitwear, glass and ceramics by creative local craftsmen and artists.
Whether you prefer something colourful and bright, or calm and in subdued hues, in Kirsti Stokland’s gallery you are sure to see works that you like. Kirsti’s own graphics, signed and numbered, are available framed and unframed. In the gallery you will see works on canvas, and others that make use of materials as varied as aluminium, glass and even Rockwool. There is also a large selection of art cards. The gallerist will gladly wrap the item you choose, so you can safely take it with you. Read More
In Hattfjelldal it is Fjellfolkets Hus (House of the mountain people) which is the museums home base. Here you’ll find great exhibitions and disseminations services about the place. In the house there is also a Tourist Information Office, a café, accommodation and place for meetings and events.
Lensmannsgården (The Sheriffs farm) which is located 200 meters east of the church is a cultural historic house from 1929. Here there is a village collection with a selection of different objects from the county. Read More
The Vefsn Museum has numerous exhibitions at several locations in and around the town of Mosjøen. These focus on everything from rural life and urban history, to weapons smuggling and the work of the Norwegian resistance during Nazi Germany’s World War II occupation. You can also join a guided tour of the historical street Sjøgata, which is lined with 19th-century houses.
Jacobsenbrygga
The main museum in the Mosjøen town centre is housed in Jacobsenbrygga, a yellow wharf building at Sjøgata No. 31B. This historic street is a living museum, and the houses are still in use as residences, shops and charming cafés. A guided walk is very worthwhile. In Jacobsen wharf are exhibitions on Mosjøen’s development into a town, about how the preceding era was dominated by fishermen-farmers, about the amazing salmon fishing on the Vefsna river that attracted aristocrats and wealthy English anglers starting in the 19th century, and much more. The museum shop sells handicrafts, antique toys, books and coffee mugs. Read More
