Vadsø museum – Ruija kvenmuseum
MuseumExperiencesCulture
The designated museum for Kven and Norwegian-Finnish history, and the local museum for Vadsø and the surrounding villages. The main building in Grensen reopened in autumn 2021, and the museum also keeps five historic sites open around the municipality.
About the museum
Vadsø museum – Ruija kvenmuseum is the Vadsø branch of Varanger museum IKS, which also runs Grenselandmuseet in Kirkenes and Vardø museum. The museum has national responsibility for Kven and Norwegian-Finnish cultural history, and is also the local museum for Vadsø and the surrounding villages.
The main building at Grensen 1 reopened in autumn 2021 as the national museum of the Kven people and Norwegian Finns.
Exhibitions
Kohtaaminen Jäämeren kans – Møtet med Ishavet (Encounter with the Arctic Ocean)
The permanent exhibition tells the story of Kven and Norwegian-Finnish immigration to Varanger, especially in the 18th and 19th centuries, and of the encounter between people who came from the south and a life that had to be lived by the Arctic Ocean.
NRK Finnmark – på grensen (On the border)
About the broadcasting history linked to Vadsø, from a town that lay close to the border at a time when radio was what held Finnmark together.
Visiting the museum
The museum is at Grensen 1, a few minutes’ walk from the town centre. The ticket is valid for the main building; the combined ticket gives access to all the museum’s sites in Vadsø. The annual pass is valid for one year in the municipality where it is bought.
Experiences with Vadsø museum – Ruija kvenmuseum
Vadsø museum – Ruija kvenmuseum
All year
The national museum responsible for the Kven people and Norwegian-Finns, with exhibitions on Kven and Norwegian-Finnish history — plus five historic sites the museum keeps open around the municipality.
Book now →Town walk in Vadsø
All year
Self-guided town walk with six stops through historic Vadsø, with audio in three languages.
Book now →Sites and departments
Tuomainengården
Kven farm from 1851, with farmhouse, cowshed, sauna and bread oven in the same yard. One of the best-preserved Kven farmsteads in the country.
Esbensengården
Merchant's house from 1848–49 at Sletten in Ytrebyen, built as Vadsø grew on the Pomor trade and fishing.
Bietilægården
A site from around 1870 in Indrebyen that tells the coastal and fishing history of Varanger. Rowing in traditional boats and activity days in summer.
Vadsøya kulturpark
The outdoor area on Vadsøya with the airship mast from 1926, erected for Amundsen's and Nobile's flights across the Arctic Ocean in 1926 and 1928.
Kjeldsenbruket på Ekkerøy
A fishing station with a quay and shop premises from the early 1900s, 15 kilometres east of Vadsø. Open in summer, with changing exhibitions.
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