Rana Museum, Stenneset open-air museum and Bredek mountain farm

Rana municipality has a fascinating and varied history, which the exhibitions at MOment, the new museum in Mo i Rana’s town centre, reveal in the form of a multi-sensory experience. In addition, at Stenneset open-air museum you can stroll amongst 20 historic buildings, while the mountain farm at Brenek is a popular hiking destination.

Industrial history, war history and natural history
MOment is a striking building in the heart of Mo i Rana that houses the Rana Museum. While there is a special focus on industrial history, you will also find a luminous wall that highlights the wildlife of Nordland, Arctic animals and much more.

There is also an exhibition that tells the local story of Nazi Germany’s occupation of Norway. The story of that bloody chapter describes how horribly mistreated Soviet prisoners of war were forced to build the stretch of railway between Mo i Rana and Dunderland, 45 km to the south, which was to be part of the Nordland railway line. In the valley of Dunderlandsdalen the Germans had several prisoner-of-war camps housing Russians and Poles.

Bredek mountain farm
Bredek mountain farm, which had been inhabited since the 1830s, was abandoned in 1965. Today the old traditional farm, idylically situated just inside the Saltfjellet–Svartisen National Park, is under the auspices of Rana Museum and is a favoured hiking destination for locals as well as tourists. It requires about an hour’s hike from Bjøllånes or Stormdalshei along highway E6. These trailheads are situated about 40 km north of Mo i Rana.

Stenneset open-air museum
At Stenneset you can wander amongst 20 historic buildings dating from 1750–1890, which have been brought to the open-air museum from all over Rana. The main house and centrepiece of the museum, however, is a white vicarage from the 1780s that also originally stood here. Stenneset is situated along route Fv12, about 8 km from the town centre of Mo i Rana. Take the turnoff onto the road called Gamle Nesnavei.

Read more about Helgeland at www.visithelgeland.com