The Sailors' Monument (Sjømannsmonumentet) stands at the highest point of Torgallmenningen, the wide pedestrian square in the centre of Bergen. The sculptor Dyre Vaa worked on it from 1938 until it was unveiled in 1950. Each of its four sides tells a chapter of Norwegian seafaring, from Viking chieftains to the helmsmen and engine-room crews of the 20th century.
The Sailors' Monument at a glance
- Where: at the top of Torgallmenningen, Bergen's main square, which runs from the Fish Market by the harbour towards Ole Bulls plass.
- Created: 1938–1950; unveiled in 1950.
- By: the Norwegian sculptor Dyre Vaa (1903–1980), who also made the statue of the writer Ludvig Holberg outside the National Theatre in Oslo.
- What it is today: Bergen's tribute to its seafarers, including those who never came home, and one of the city's favourite meeting points.
- Time needed: 10–15 minutes to walk round all four sides.
A square built against fire, a monument built through a war
Torgallmenningen is older than it looks. After the great fires of the 16th century, Bergen began laying out wide public streets, called allmenninger, to stop flames from jumping from one block of wooden houses to the next; this one was laid out wide after the fire of 1582 and got its present name after the fire of 1702. On the night of 15–16 January 1916 another fire destroyed about 380 buildings between the harbour and the Engen area. The square was rebuilt to a plan by the architect Finn Berner from 1923, which explains the uniform neoclassical facades around you.
Dyre Vaa began the Sailors' Monument in 1938 and finished it only after the Second World War, a war in which thousands of Norwegian seamen lost their lives. He designed it as a block with four sides, each devoted to one period of Norway's history at sea, with twelve statues and eight reliefs in all. The last side looks to the 20th century and also remembers the sailors who drowned. In 1950 the monument was unveiled at the top of the square, where it has stood ever since.
What to look for
- The Viking side: a chieftain with a spear, a warrior with a shield on his back and a poet. The reliefs show a longship and the Norse arrival in North America, about five centuries before Columbus.
- The 18th-century side: a captain with a large belly, a bearded explorer looking out for new land and a young cabin boy with a pipe. Above them a missionary preaches in Greenland; below, a ship is attacked by a sea serpent.
- The 19th-century side: a shipowner in a top hat holding a pocket watch, a boy going to sea for the first time, and a pilot who knew the hidden rocks of the coast. The reliefs show whaling and a shipyard.
- The 20th-century side: a helmsman with binoculars between a deck boy and a machinist holding a wrench. In the upper relief a drowned sailor floats in front of a modern ship; below, the dead seamen move towards an angel.
- Mercury on the roof: look across the square to the tower of the Sundt department store, where a figure of Mercury by Sofus Madsen keeps watch over Torgallmenningen.
Tips for your visit
- Walk all the way round, slowly. Small details such as the boy's pipe, the shipowner's watch and the machinist's wrench are easy to miss at a glance.
- Torgallmenningen is the city's main stage: on 17 May, Norway's Constitution Day, it is packed with parades and people. Come then for the atmosphere, or on another day for a quiet look.
- Bergen is famous for rain. The statues and reliefs are at eye level and above, so you can study them comfortably under an umbrella.
Nearby
- Den Nationale Scene: the theatre founded in 1850 by the violinist Ole Bull, where a young Henrik Ibsen worked in the 1850s. Its Art Nouveau building from 1909 is a few minutes' walk away.
- Bergen Cathedral: the cathedral of St Olav, with a cannonball still lodged in its tower wall since the Battle of Vågen in 1665.
- Fish Market (Fisketorget): at the harbour end of Torgallmenningen, a short walk downhill, for seafood with a view of the boats.
- Bryggen: the row of wooden Hanseatic wharf buildings on the other side of the harbour, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1979.
See Bergen with World City Trail
Our Bergen scavenger hunt turns the city centre into a game you play on your phone. The route links 10 stops and takes around 1.5 hours, with about 37 minutes of walking. The Sailors' Monument is one of the stops, along with Den Nationale Scene and Bergen Cathedral.
If you prefer a different format, there is also a self-guided walking tour and an outdoor escape game in Bergen.
Play the Bergen scavenger hunt →
Take the self-guided walking tour of Bergen →
Play the outdoor escape game in Bergen →
Facts checked in October 2026.