Royal Norwegian Navy Museum, Naval museum in Karljohansvern, Horten, Norway.
The Royal Norwegian Navy Museum is a naval museum in Horten that displays ships, models, and maritime objects covering several centuries of Norwegian naval history. It occupies several halls at the Karljohansvern site and holds paintings, photographs, equipment, and historical ship records.
The museum was founded in 1853, making it one of the oldest naval museums in the world. It was established at Karljohansvern, a base that had been built in the early 19th century as the main hub of the Norwegian Navy.
The museum sits within Karljohansvern, a former naval base whose 19th-century buildings are still standing and in use. Visitors can look through personal objects and diaries of ordinary sailors that give a direct sense of what life on board Norwegian warships was like.
The Karljohansvern site sits by the water and is easy to walk around, with the different halls and outdoor areas close to one another. Leaving enough time to see both the indoor exhibitions and the vessels accessible outside is a good idea.
Visitors can board HNoMS Utstein, a former operational submarine of the Kobben class, to get a sense of how cramped life and work were beneath the surface. On the same site sits HNoMS Rap, one of Norway's earliest torpedo boats, which is still on display today.
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