The Hardanger Maritime Centre opened in 1984 in a former furniture factory on the waterfront. It's not a museum of static displays - this is a working shipyard where you can watch craftspeople building and restoring traditional wooden boats.
They specialise in clinker-built construction, the overlapping-plank technique used in Norway for over two thousand years. The centre is one of just three ship preservation facilities recognised by the Norwegian Directorate for Cultural Heritage.
You'll also find Norway's only operational rope-making lane, where ropes are twisted using traditional methods on a long outdoor walk. There's a working blacksmith's forge too, making the iron rivets and fittings used in the boats.
Their first major restoration was the Mathilde, a 76-ton sailing vessel built in 1884 for transporting dried cod from Lofoten to Bergen. She still sails and takes visitors on fjord trips during summer.
The centre trains apprentices in these disappearing skills. Around 20 craftspeople work here, passing on knowledge that was nearly lost a generation ago.
During summer there are family activities - children can build toy boats, learn knots, twist rope, or rent traditional rowing boats. Guided tours run daily at 1pm in high season.