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All Norway Tromsø Roald Amundsen Monument

Roald Amundsen Monument

The great polar explorer is remembered in this far northern town, where he embarked on his final expedition.

Tromsø, Norway

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Kathy D
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Roald Amundsens statue in the morning fog, Tromsø   elzo valugi
Roald Amundsens statue in the morning fog, Tromsø   elzo valugi
Roald Amundsen statue   kld123 / Atlas Obscura User
Roald Amundsen statue   kld123 / Atlas Obscura User
Roald Amundsen statue   kld123 / Atlas Obscura User
Amundsen’s former home near the monument   Map data Jun 2014
June 1928, Amundsen and crew prepare to leave Tromsø on rescue mission - they were never to be seen again   photo by Anders Beer Wilse/Galleri Nor Collection
Forever gazing into his next adventure   B Ang / Atlas Obscura User
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About

In 1928, after 35 years of circling the globe, jumping exploration hurdles, and establishing a new standard for what it meant to be a man of discovery, Roald Engelbregt Gravning Amundsen set out to find a crew of fellow adventurers who had been lost in the arctic—and he never came back.

In the island town of Tromsø there are several reminders of the great explorer and favorite son of Norway, including this slightly larger-than-life bronze statue atop a stone plinth. The statue was unveiled as a memorial to Amundsen in 1958, placed in a small park not far from his final home, looking out over the harbor.

Roald Amundsen set so many records in such a short period of time, it’s hard to keep track. Originally from Borge, Norway, he is uniquely associated with arctic and Antarctic exploration, leading the first documented over-the-top trip through the Northwest Passage (a three-year slog), the first expedition to reach the South Pole, in 1911, and the first airship expedition to the North Pole, in 1926. Consequently he was the first person ever to reach both poles in one lifetime.

Amundsen lived his later years in Tromsø, at the very top of Norway, 750 miles from where he was born at the very bottom. His final trip was a rescue mission from here, hoping to find the crew of fellow-explorer Umberto Nobile, who hadn’t returned from a trip to the North Pole. Amundsen’s seaplane crashed, somewhere in the Barents Sea, and neither his body, nor the bodies of the five-member crew, were ever found.

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Exploration Monuments Statues Arctic Circle Lost

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Tromsø is in far northern Norway. The monument is located in a small waterfront park near the old downtown area near the tourist information center.

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kld123

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B Ang, amcagg, clarissajwatts

  • B Ang
  • amcagg
  • clarissajwatts

Published

February 13, 2017

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  • http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/26/AR2008122600605_2.html?sid=ST2008122601085
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roald_Amundsen
Roald Amundsen Monument
Roald Amundsens plass
Tromsø
Norway
69.64807, 18.958873
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Polaria

Tromsø, Norway

miles away

Arctic Cathedral (Ishavskatedralen)

Tromsø, Norway

miles away

Arctic–Alpine Botanic Garden

Tromsø, Norway

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Tromsø

Tromsø

Norway

Places 6
Stories 1

Nearby Places

Polaria

Tromsø, Norway

miles away

Arctic Cathedral (Ishavskatedralen)

Tromsø, Norway

miles away

Arctic–Alpine Botanic Garden

Tromsø, Norway

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Tromsø

Tromsø

Norway

Places 6
Stories 1

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An Explorer's Guide to Exploration Itself

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