Lofoten War Memorial Museum — Attraction in Vågan

I was first here several years ago and wanted to visit again. I told everyone I knew that this is an unusual, amazing war museum and unlike any they may have to be previously. This is one man’s passion; he’s has collected all of these items himself or had them given to him by locals; he wrote descriptive tags for every item (about half have an English version); and he knows where every piece came from and can tell you a whole story about how it was used how he got it, etc. It’s not like any museum you’ve ever been to; very idiosyncratic; tons and tons of stuff displayed seemingly haphazardly. Because Norway was occupied by the Germans there were a lot of German material uniforms, equipment, etc.; also one of the Enigma machines; and Eva Braun's purse. Luckily his museum was very busy, and everyone seemed amazed by the quantity & detail. Two French men shook his hand on the way out and said “France thanks you and Norway.” An American woman talked to him about the war chaplains’ kit he had and that her grandfather had been a chaplain in the war. Some other people mentioned their family's war experiences, so it really seemed to resonate...

Set in the former telecommunications building , this is a superb collection of both military and civilian from WW 11 An absolutely huge amount of memorabilia, all on the ground level ,weaves it story of the occupation from the Nazis and the subsequent trials and tribulations. I have visited many a war museum/memorial or sites ,and can safely say this was very intresting, alot of information but more visual visit We were lucky ,as we were the only visitors and the museum attended gave us some insightful information which only enchanced our visit! Worth a visit, even if you are not a big war buff ,as this is more than just about specifically the war,more about the people, lives and how a underdeveloped and much less man power force handled themselves ... Moving and gave me a new prospective on events in...

A really great experience. It warms my heart (which is needed during winter in Svolvaer!) that people take time to make History live on. There are a lot of great displays in this museum with fairly unique pieces, and you get to learn more about this lesser known front of the war (and I say that as someone from a country that still keeps Narvik very much alive in its memory) and of the great efforts and sacrifices Norwegians consented in the common struggle against the axis.

One improvement, I wish there was at the beginning is a little timeline of the events so that you can more easily make sense of the different things you see in the exhibition afterward.

The staff is really nice and I had a great experience overall. Thank you for the great time, thank you for preserving...