On the edge of Vågen, Bergen's harbour, a bronze sailor stands looking out over the water. He is Leif Andreas Larsen, known as "Shetlands-Larsen", the most famous skipper of the Shetland Bus, the secret wartime link that carried agents, weapons and refugees between Shetland and occupied Norway in fishing boats. The statue was unveiled on 8 May 1995, fifty years to the day after the liberation of Norway.
The Shetlands-Larsen statue at a glance
- Where: on the quay now called Shetlands-Larsens brygge, on the harbour Vågen in central Bergen, a short walk from the Fish Market and Bryggen.
- Created: unveiled on 8 May 1995.
- By: sculptor Knut Steen.
- What it is today: a memorial to Larsen and the men of the Shetland Bus, beside the Nordstjernen memorial to Bergen's lost seafarers.
- Time needed: 10–15 minutes.
Who was Shetlands-Larsen?
Leif Larsen was born in 1906. Before Norway was drawn into the Second World War he volunteered on the Finnish side in the Winter War, and in 1940 he fought against the German invasion. In February 1941 he escaped to Britain in a fishing boat and joined the unit that became known as the Shetland Bus. Operating from Shetland, its crews sailed small Norwegian fishing boats across the North Sea, often in winter darkness and storms, to land agents, radios and weapons on the Norwegian coast and bring people out.
Larsen made 52 trips to Norway. In autumn 1942 he skippered the fishing boat Arthur in Operation Title, an attempt to attack the German battleship Tirpitz with human torpedoes in the Trondheimsfjord. The attack failed, but he became the first non-Briton to receive the Conspicuous Gallantry Medal. Later he commanded the submarine chaser HNoMS Vigra. With eleven decorations he was one of the most highly decorated naval officers of the war. He died in Bergen in 1990.
What to look for
- The bronze figure of Larsen gazing out across Vågen towards the open sea, the direction of Shetland.
- The name of the quay itself: Shetlands-Larsens brygge, renamed in his honour.
- The Nordstjernen memorial on the same quay, a grey stone half-sphere unveiled in 2004 with the names of 514 Bergen seafarers who did not return after the Second World War.
- The view across the harbour to the wooden houses of Bryggen and Bergenhus fortress.
The man who credited his crew
Larsen was famous for playing down his own role and giving the credit to the men who sailed with him. The British officer David Howarth, who wrote the classic book The Shetland Bus, called him one of the most remarkable personalities of the entire Second World War. In 1947 the writer Frithjof Sælen published a book about him, and in 1954 Larsen played himself in the film Shetlandsgjengen. In 2000 the newspaper Bergens Tidende named him the man of the century for western Norway.
Tips for your visit
- Come early in the morning, before the Fish Market crowds, when the harbour is quiet.
- Stand behind the statue and look out over Vågen: it frames the sea route Larsen sailed.
- If you want to know more, the North Sea Traffic Museum at Telavåg, outside Bergen, displays his medals and tells the story of the Shetland Bus.
- Combine it with a walk around the harbour to Bryggen and the Bergenhus fortress.
Nearby
- Fish Market (Fisketorget): the harbour-side market with seafood stalls, a couple of minutes' walk.
- Bryggen: the row of old Hanseatic wooden wharf houses, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, across the harbour.
- Bergenhus fortress and Håkon's Hall: the medieval royal hall at the mouth of the harbour, about ten minutes' walk.
- Sailor's Monument: the memorial to Bergen's seafarers on Torgallmenningen, a few minutes' walk inland.
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. It includes the Sailor's Monument, the National Stage (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.