Larvik Sjøfartsmuseum is housed in Blumes gard, a Baroque merchant's house built in 1730 and the oldest brick building in Larvik. The museum stands on Kirkestredet, one of the town's oldest streets, and tells the story of a place shaped by two very different maritime traditions: shipbuilding and whaling.
The shipbuilding legacy centres on Colin Archer, who grew up at Kirkestredet 9, literally next door to the museum. Archer's boatyard on Tollerodden became one of the finest in Norway by the 1890s. His most famous creation was the Fram, launched at his Larvik shipyard on 26 October 1892, christened by Fridtjof Nansen's wife Eva. The Fram carried Nansen on his drift across the Arctic from 1893 to 1896 and then Amundsen to the South Pole in 1911, making it arguably the most important polar vessel in history. Archer also designed the famous Colin Archer rescue boats used by the Norwegian Society for Sea Rescue. His boat Jærbuen II from 1898 is usually docked at the museum. The annual Colin Archer Harbour Festival is held nearby.
The museum's exhibitions include a moving display on war sailors from Larvik, telling the stories of ten local sailors who navigated the world's oceans during World War II, and a separate exhibition on Larvik's own whaling history, distinct from the better-known whaling tradition of neighbouring Sandefjord.
The shipbuilding legacy centres on Colin Archer, who grew up at Kirkestredet 9, literally next door to the museum. Archer's boatyard on Tollerodden became one of the finest in Norway by the 1890s. His most famous creation was the Fram, launched at his Larvik shipyard on 26 October 1892, christened by Fridtjof Nansen's wife Eva. The Fram carried Nansen on his drift across the Arctic from 1893 to 1896 and then Amundsen to the South Pole in 1911, making it arguably the most important polar vessel in history. Archer also designed the famous Colin Archer rescue boats used by the Norwegian Society for Sea Rescue. His boat Jærbuen II from 1898 is usually docked at the museum. The annual Colin Archer Harbour Festival is held nearby.
The museum's exhibitions include a moving display on war sailors from Larvik, telling the stories of ten local sailors who navigated the world's oceans during World War II, and a separate exhibition on Larvik's own whaling history, distinct from the better-known whaling tradition of neighbouring Sandefjord.
