Wants to Build Norway’s Arctic University Museum in Tromsø City Centre
The Norwegian government has chosen the city center of Tromsø, Northern Norway, as the location for the construction of new facilities for the Arctic University Museum of Norway. (Photo: Bernt Rostad)
"This is the starting point for a brand new museum building which will have great significance for Tromsø as a knowledge city," says Oddmund Hoel, Norwegian Minister of Research and Higher Education.
The Norwegian Government has now decided that the Arctic University Museum of Norway, Northern Norway's oldest scientific institution, will be granted a new location in Tromsø city center. This was announced by the Ministry of Education and Research on Monday.
The university museum currently has its main collections in a park on the southern tip of the island Tromsøya, about a 30-minute walk from the city center. The museum also includes the Polar Museum, the seal hunting vessel MS Polstjerna and the Tromsø Arctic-Alpine Botanical Garden.
"This is the starting point for a brand new museum building which will have great significance for Tromsø as a knowledge city. Central parts of our shared cultural heritage will here by disseminated to the local population and the increasing share of tourists," says Oddmund Hoel (Center), Norway's Minister of Research and Higher Education.
"The Arctic, the Sámi, and the Kven are central components of what makes Norway unique. We will now get an arena for dissemination that matches how important this is for the nation. I am very excited to follow the development of the new museum," he continues.
The Sámi are an indigenous people and the Kvens/Norwegian Finns are a national minority in Norway.
The Arctic University Museum of Norway in Tromsø (formerly called Tromsø Museum) moved into its current main building on southern Tromsøya in 1961. A new main building and the funds for the construction have been discussed for many years. (Photo: Leonhard Lenz)
Offers increased attractiveness
The project has gone through a longer process with a concept study and external quality assurance. Based on this, the government has chosen a concept as the foundation for the further work.
"This is an important contribution to the city center and business development in Tromsø. The new museum will make the city center more attractive, both to us who live in Tromsø and to all the tourists who visit the city. The government is now following up the city growth agreement, through which we will place visitor-intensive businesses in the center," says Cecilie Myrseth (Labor), Norwegian Minister of Trade and Industry.
Furthermore, the Norwegian Directorate of Public Construction and Property and UiT – the Arctic University of Norway, will lay out the details in a clarification phase and in a preliminary project. This will involve clarifying the aims, cost estimate and framework for the new museum building.
A proposal for a start-up grant will then be submitted to the Norwegian Parliament, which must be in place before construction can begin.
"The government will ensure that these processes are carried out as quickly as possible," maintains Hoel.
Marvels of northern nature and stories of northern people are central themes for the science-based exhibitions at the Arctic University Museum of Norway. Here is an example of an object in its collections: a presumed saw made of bone or horn from the Early Metal Ages. This was found in 1876 in the municipality of Sør-Varanger on Norway's border with Russia. (Photo: Daniel Lilleeng)
The Arctic University Museum of Norway is one of six national university museums. Its main tasks are to conduct research and research dissemination, develop and preserve scientific collections, as well as teach.
