What is the Airship Mast on Vadsøya?
Last updated: 8 October 2026
Short answer
The mast was built in 1926 as a mooring mast for the airship “Norge” on the first expedition over the North Pole, led by Roald Amundsen with Umberto Nobile as captain. In 1928 Nobile stopped here again with “Italia”, on a flight that ended in a crash. The mast stands in Vadsøya Culture Park — see Luftskipsmasta.
In more detail
The reason the mast was built here was the weather observations of merchant Hans Fredrik Esbensen, who kept a weather log from 1880 to 1930. The mast was made in Italy, shipped here in parts and put up by Italian workers together with engineers from the Norwegian Public Roads Administration.
Vadsøya Culture Park is managed by Vadsø museum – Ruija kvenmuseum and is open all year round, but is not cleared of snow in winter. The Perletur walk “Luftskipsmasta – Gapahuken Øya” (see Walks in Vadsø) is 1.5 km and starts at the car park by the culture park.