North Pole Expedition Museum

The North Pole Expedition Museum in Longyearbyen covers the period when Svalbard was the launching point for attempts on the pole by air: Amundsen and Ellsworth's flying boats in 1925, the airship Norge that crossed the Arctic Ocean from Ny-Ålesund in 1926, and the Italia, which crashed on the return in 1928 and set off a rescue in which Amundsen himself disappeared. The collection is built on original documents and photographs. The museum was assembled by a private collector over decades before it opened to the public, which is why so much of it is original paper rather than reproduction.

Background

Known in Norwegian as Luftskipsmuseet på Spitsbergen, the museum was co-founded by Stefano Poli from Italy and Ingunn Løyning from Norway, who began planning it in 2005. A purpose-built home was dropped after a falling-out with a share-owner in 2007, so the museum first opened in 2008 inside the town's former pig farm, which had also housed the Svalbard Museum. That year was the International Polar Year and brought the 80th anniversary of the Italia disaster and the 30th anniversary of Umberto Nobile's death. Descendants of Nobile and Amundsen attended the opening on 15 November 2008. In July 2012 it moved to a new building nearer the centre. Displays also cover Salomon August Andrée's balloon expedition of 1897.

Source: Wikipedia, "North Pole Expedition Museum"

What to look for

• The Norge crossing - the 1926 airship flight from Ny-Ålesund across the Arctic Ocean.
• The Italia disaster - the 1928 crash and the rescue that followed.
• The Amundsen material - documents and photographs from the expeditions.
• The 1925 flying boats - the attempt that preceded the airship flights.

When to go

Year round; the museum keeps daily hours. Winter is the quiet season in Longyearbyen. Two hours covers the collection.

Practical notes

The museum is document and photograph heavy rather than object heavy. It is small and two hours is enough. Winter hours can be reduced.

Nearby

Longyearbyen's centre is around it, and Adventdalen is east.

Key facts