Grenslandmuset, Kirkenes

Grenslandmuseet (border museum), Kirkenes, Norway - darkometer rating : 5 - A museum on the edge of Kirkenes in northern Norway about the region's special role resulting from its border with Russia /the former USSR . The exhibition extensively covers the history of WWII in these extreme latitudes too, as well as further cultural/historical aspects. > More background info > What there is to see > Location > Access and costs > Time required > Combinations with other dark destinations > Combinations with non-dark destinations > Photos More background info: see under Kirkenes in general for more info about the Russian border and the town's fate in WWII , and also cf. Andersgrotta and Murmansk for additional aspects in these contexts. What there is to see: The name of the museum is almost a bit misleading, since the main part of the exhibition that occupies the large ground floor hall is instead about Kirkenes and the region during WWII . The star exhibit is a rare Soviet Ilyushin Il-2 two-seater fighter-bomber plane that fills and dominates the centre of the hall. In front of it a blown-up photo of a bombed house with a group of sculptures/wax figures of a mother crouching and protecting two little children sets the scene. Along the walls aspects of the war in the far north are outlined through a good mix of artefacts, documents, photos, explanatory texts and partly multi-media-ed installations. Amongst the artefacts are bomb casings, salvaged pieces of wrecks, guns, a German fog thrower, communications gear and everyday items of the times. Amongst the documents the collection of Russian propaganda posters is the most outstanding – socialist realism meets war rallying cries … and of course there's no shortage of images of Stalin either.