Museums and Art

Exhibitions, monuments and installations

Gamvik Museum

Gamvik Museum features local history, from the first settlers who arrived shortly after the last Ice Age around 10 000 years ago, to the present day. It is housed in an old fish factory with views toward the Barents Sea.

Foldalbruket

Foldalbruket museum is a former fish factory in Kjøllefjord and exhibits local fishing traditions, history and development. It was granted protected heritage status by the Directorate for Cultural Heritage in 1994. Foldal also offers accommodation in historic surroundings. In the summer there is a quaint dockside café serving fish soup, waffles and cakes.

Nissehuset Christmas Museum

This unique museum in Mehamn has over 27 000 Christmas objects, consituting the world's largest private collection of Christmas artifacts. It is open daily from 15 May - 15 September and by appointment during other periods.

Christensen Gallery 

The gallery in Kjøllefjord is located on the shoreline in a renovated fish depot, and features  exhibitions of art and photography from the Barents region.

Whale Monument at Mehamn town square

The monument has been raised in memory of "the Battle of Mehamn" which took place on 2 June 1903. During the last half of the 19th century, there was extensive whaling operations along the Finnmark coast. 

Several whaling stations were set up across the county, with one of the largest being placed in Mehamn. This was run by the famous industrialist and grenade harpoon inventor, Svend Foyn. The whalers were blamed for a decline in sea fishing in the beginning of the 20th century, and as a result around 1 200 furious fishermen attacked the Mehamn whaling station and razed it to the ground overnight on 2 June 1903.

For the first time in modern history, Norwegian authorities employed the military to restore civil order. The episode has become known as "the Battle of Mehamn", contributing to the Norwegian Parliament banning whaling along the coast of Northern Norway in 1904.

Vevikneset

On the road to Slettnes, there are ruins of WWII bunkers and cannon platforms.

Lebesbymannen

Local history exhibition in Lebesby featuring "the Man from Lebesby", who had visions of war and calamity and tried to prevent his prophecies from coming into reality.