Nanoq

Pentti Kronqvist, fireman from Jakobstad on the west coast of Finland, was the leader of the FinnoNorwegian trans-Greenland expedition in 1981. This was to be the 33rd expedition to cross the inland ice of Greenland since the very first crossing made by Fridtjof Nansen in 1888. By 1981 Pentti Kronqvist was by no means an unexperienced traveller of Arctic lands. He had visited Greenland several times and as early as 1976 he had participated in an adventourous expedition from Greenland to Arctic Canada. After his successful transGreenland expedition Pentti Kronqvistwas very often requested to give lectures about the Arctic. He also mounted an exhibition, which was shown in a great number of places. In Fäboda, just outside Jakobstad, where he had grown up, he had created a small village of huts and cottages.

This village was soon to become a miniature museum. It was here that Pentti Kronqvist first began to think of Fäboda as the location for an Arctic museum and information centre. The construction of the Arctic museum, called Nanoq after the Inuits' name for the polar bear, began in 1988 and it was inagurated in the summer of 1991, which was built entirely free of loans. There was a great deal of sponsorship by companies, cultural foundations, the city of Jakobstad, and many interested individuals. The voluntary work done by these enthusiasts was of major importance.

This unique museum displays Arctic cultures, equipment from famous Arctic expeditions and Arctic hunting equipment from the 17th century to the present. For those interested in art there is a soapstone collection from the Inuit culture in Arctic Canada and art objects with Arctic motifs.

Pentti wanted to create a setting where the visitors might learn about the Arctic regions - experience their nature, culture and history Pentti Kronqvist had been very much influenced himself by positive experiences of the Arctic. He was particularly affected by the polar Inuits he had met in the Thule district in northernmost Greenland.

The extensive natural-history collections on display in Nanoq allow the visitor to become familiar with the exciting life of huntsmen and famous explorers.

Beautiful works of art and craft from the Arctic regions can also be admired in the museum. Objects connected with seal-hunting and fishing in the Gulf of Bothnia can be viewed in a separate department. Nanoq is open throughout the year and each summer new feature exhibitions are added. There is also an library with a wide collection of Arctic literature and some 400 films of Arctic expeditions.

The building is modelled arcitecturally on a peat house in Ita, Greenland, the most northerly village in the world. This alone makes Nanoq worth the visit. Nanoq is the first Arctic museum in Finland. The building is unique in the whole world because of its special style of construction. The museum arranges an annual exhibition opening 1 June.

The book about Nanoq can be bought in the museum or if you contact Nanoq. The price is 180 FIM and is 130 pages. The book deals with Pentti Kronqvist and his expeditions in the Arctic regions and also with the construction of Nanoq. Most of the pictures used on this page are taken from that book.

© Christer Sandén 1997-2004

This page is made with help from Pentti Kronqvist who has been kind to give material, that I can use.