Narvik Things to Do

This small wood building you see in my picture dates back to the time when the town of Narvik was still named Viktorahavn and was not even a town yet. In the years when the railway was being built, i.e. in the 1890s, this was the post office.
My impression is that it looks as if it belonged to the American Far West, an impression I had also while looking at pictures of Narvik and its people during the years of the railway construction. I am referring to the pictures shown at the Ofoten Museum, which by the way is now the owner of the Old Post Office and is in charge of its preservation.

Watching the port of Narvik is like watching an enormous industrial machine at work. You see the trains arrive, with the iron ore from Kiruna, be efficiently emptied and go back to the iron mines. You see also the cargo ships that, loaded with the iron pellets, leave for all parts of the world.

Each train carries 4100 tons of mineral and there are 20 trains a day. At least these were the figures at the time of my visit to Narvik. A new storage system and other major changes in the port have been done in 2009 and 2010 increasing the quantity of iron ore handled on each day. Moreover, the construction of underground deposits and the new process should have a good effect on the environment by reducing considerably the noise and the dust.

In 1946 the Norwegian government drew a plan for the creation of war cemeteries and founded the War Graves Office to take care of the considerable number of bodies of foreign war dead on Norwegian territory, as well as of the graves of Norwegian combatants who had lost their lives abroad.
Narvik was one of the selected locations for war cemeteries because of the many deaths in this area, due to the terrible battles of 1940.
Soldiers and sailors from Britain and the British Commonwealth, from Poland, France and Germany now lie here, their tombs grouped by nationality. Among those buried in the French sector there are also men of other nationalities, because they were soldiers of the Foreign Legion, especially from a unit consisting of men who had joined the Legion after fighting as volunteers against Franco in Spain.

This small museum shows how Narvik developed from a small fishermen’s village into a small city with an important port. It happened mainly in the late 1800s and early 1900s with the construction of the railway to connect this seaport and the mines of iron ore in Kiruna.

Visitors can see models, pictures, old working tools and a documentary film about the construction of the railway. The building itself where the museum is situated is nice and interesting to see: it was built in 1902 as the administration building of the railway.

It is open all year round, from 10:00 to 15:00, closed on Saturday and Sunday.

Entrance fee (adults): NOK 40.00. It is possible to pay in SEK as well.

Narvik had a very tough time during the war. Because of its strategic port and access to Swedish iron ore mines, Narvik was highly contested at the outset of World War II. When the Germans invaded Norway in 1940, the Norwegians (with their British, French and Polish allies) fought a pitched battle to hold Narvik. After some initial success, France surrendered to Germany, the British were driven out, and the Norwegians were forced to capitulate. During the conflict, the British destroyed Narvik's port and railway with air attacks and Naval gunfire, destroying much of the town with them. Narvik was all but destroyed again in 1945, this time by the Germans as they retreated.

In the museum, you can follow Narvik's fate through the war, from the initial days of German "protection of Norwegian neutrality," to the brief liberation of Narvik, to the days of the Quisling regime, and finally to the triumphant return of Norwegian sovereignty in 1945. Most exhibits are in Norwegian, but you can borrow descriptions in English or German from the front desk.

Entry costs NOK 50 for adults, NOK 25 for children. The museum is open daily during the summer, until 9PM Monday-Saturday, until 6PM on Sunday. Hours are shorter off-season.

While most locals are very friendly, some are downright stone-faced. :)

To get answers to your questions, a good place to get started is the tourist office. It's located on Kongensgate, the main road -- not at all far from the train station, bus station, or ferry dock. Opening hours vary with season, but when it is open, you can get maps and good information about the town. You can access the Internet there, too -- it costs NOK 10 for 15 minutes.

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A bit of an archaeological find in Narvik: a 3000 year old carving in rock just outside of a residential neighborhood of Narvik. The footing can be a bit slippery, but it is quite a fun walk to try and find it. You can get exact walking directions from the tourist office. If you're less adventurous, you can look at a replica of it in the Ofoten Museum.

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One of the most amazing stories of World War II was the participation of the Polish Navy in the Battle of Narvik in 1940. Their homeland already overrun by the Nazis, the Polish sailors risked, and in many cases sacrificed, their lives in the vain effort to keep Norway from suffering the same fate as Poland.

One of the more noteworthy contributions of the Polish Navy was in the form of the Destroyer ORP Grom. The uncannily precise attacks by Grom gunners gave the invading Germans fits. Finally, to end the harassing bombardment once and for all, the Germans called in an air strike on the Polish vessel. The ship sank within minutes, taking 59 sailors with her. This statue and plaque are dedicated to the Grom crew, as well as to the bravery of all Polish sailors during the Battle of Narvik.