The Hamsun Center opens its doors again
On Friday, June 12, the Hamsun Center opened at Hamarøy the doors after six months of rehabilitation. Since November 2025, the building has been wrapped in tarpaulin and the exhibitions inaccessible to the public. Now the facade has been renewed and the windows and walls sealed against the weather.
– We call this new era the Hamsun Center 2.0. The upgrade and transformation make room for new stories and narratives. Completely in the spirit of Hamsun, says director Monica Celius.
Nordland County Council owns the Hamsun Center and has financed the entire rehabilitation. Fauske Bygg AS is a contractor.
– We have been looking forward to this day. There have been constructional defects in the building since its opening in 2010, but now the contractor has done a very good job and the building is almost like new. Then it can finally come into its own and open the doors to this enormous cultural treasure for everyone who wants to get a broader impression of Knut Hamsun, says County Councilor for Development and Property Sisilja Viksund.
The opening was marked with speeches from county councilors Arne Ivar Mikalsen and Sisilja Viksund from Nordland County Municipality, mayor Britt Kristoffersen Løksa from Hamarøy and director Ole Jakob Furset from Nordlandsmuseet The day also featured a conversation between musician Stian Grønbech and literary scholar Sigurd Stranda, a reading from Svermere and a musical interpretation of Det vilde kor.
– After extensive work on the roof, facades and windows, the Hamsun Center stands out again with new strength – equipped for weather, wind and the future. It may not always be the technical and structural measures that receive the most attention, but it is precisely such investments that are crucial if our cultural heritage is to live on, not just be admired from a distance, said Nordlandsmuseet's director Ole J. Furset during the opening.
He also pointed out that Nordlandsmuseet are proud to manage the Hamsun Center, but that such improvements do not happen alone. It requires that owners, politicians, professional communities, craftsmen and employees pull in the same direction. Furset emphasized that it is not a given to prioritize cultural buildings when many important needs compete for attention, but that Nordland County Municipality has shown through action and long-term will that cultural heritage is not decoration — it is community building.
Photo below: Karoline OA Pettersen
Summer season 2026
The summer program opened on Saturday, June 13th with half-price admission and free coffee with your ticket. The Hamsun Center is now open daily from 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM until August 16th, with daily lectures and tours.
