The building has major maintenance needs after having housed the iconic Viking ships for almost 100 years. But the planned renovation was removed from the Museum of the Viking Age construction project when budget cuts were made in 2022.
In the revised national budget for 2026, 135 million kroner is now being reallocated to rehabilitation. The necessary funds are taken from available funds within the construction project.
Museum Director Aud V. Tønnessen is relieved that this is now in place and highlights the good cooperation with Statsbygg and the Ministry of Education.
‘For us, this means a great deal. Now we will have a fully refurbished building both inside and out before we open. A total refurbishment means that the roof, floors, attic, walls, and windows will be restored,” says Tønnessen.’
Still an important building
The Viking ships and the sleds from Oseberg have recently been moved to the new museum building, which is located right next to the old one. Even though all the objects have been moved, the old museum building will remain an important part of the new museum. It will still house the main entrance, and in addition there will be areas for school classes, an auditorium, and a museum shop, among other things.
‘The old museum building is the public’s first encounter with the Museum of the Viking Age, and we are very happy that Arnstein Arneberg’s fantastic building is now getting the care that such an architectural gem deserves,’ says Tønnessen.
Reallocation of funds
The 135 million are funds that were set aside as a buffer in the project, but which have now been reallocated to rehabilitate the original museum building.
There are still parts of the originally planned museum that are not in place. This applies, among other things, to an area for temporary exhibitions and a research centre.
‘We are working on this, and we are quite hopeful that we will succeed in securing funding for it,’ says Tønnessen.’
The history of the Viking Ship Museum
- 1914: Arnstein Arneberg wins the architectural competition with the project “The Oseberg Queen”.
- 1916: The very first state allocation for the construction of the Viking Ship Museum.
- 1926: The museum opens
- 1932: The Gokstad- and Tune wing open to the public
- 1957: The artefact wing opens
- 2012: An international expert committee concludes that the ships cannot be moved, and that a new museum must be built at Bygdøy (not in Bjørvika as originally planned).
- 2016: AART architects wins the architectural competition among 111 entries
- 2021: The Viking Ship Museum closes to the public
- 2023: Start of theconstruction
- 2027: The museum opens