Norwegian Fisheries Museum

The Norwegian Fisheries Museum (Det Norske Fiskerimuseum) is housed in a group of old wooden warehouses on the Sandviksboder waterfront at Sandviken in Bergen, in Vestland county, Norway. The buildings are former fish merchants' boathouses that reflect the long role of fishing and the stockfish trade in the economy of western Norway. The museum is part of Museum Vest and presents the history of Norwegian fisheries and coastal culture, from traditional boats and gear to the industrial developments of the 19th and 20th centuries. The collections include fishing boats, nets and tools, models of vessels, and exhibitions on whaling, the herring and cod fisheries, fish processing, and the life of fishing families along the coast. The displays are arranged thematically across the old warehouse floors, which keep the atmosphere of working buildings with timber beams and storage lofts. Boats are also part of the collection, and the waterfront setting allows historic vessels to be seen close to where they were used. The museum aims to link past practices to current questions of sustainability and marine resources. Restoration of the warehouses has preserved the original structure while adapting them to museum use. Because Sandviken lies north of the main Bryggen quarter, a visit combines naturally with a walk through the old wooden streets of the district.