Maritiman: Get on board the floating museum

At Maritiman, visitors can learn about life at sea in a playful and exciting way, without leaving the dock. Climb into a real submarine, get on board a massive destroyer, or play with the mascots Tim and Virvelina.

The floating maritime museum Maritiman is moored at Packhuskajen in central Gothenburg. Its collection of ships, boats and barges are all floating on the river Göta Älv, and the museum is part of the city’s cultural heritage. “Maritiman represents Swedish maritime history, both military and civilian,” says Johannes Olsson, visitor experience manager. “For more than 35 years, we have been displaying the living conditions at sea and the experience of being in the navy.”

The destroyer Småland is particularly popular. The largest vessel on display, she is as long as a football field and eight floors high. And this year, the monitor Sölve celebrates its 150th anniversary with an exhibition about its long life as a military ship and oil barge, and what life onboard looked like.

Many take the opportunity to climb into the submarine Nordkaparen, where the periscope is the only contact with daylight and the outside world. “We encourage visitors to explore,” says Olsson. “This is not an ordinary museum on land; you can actually enter most of our vessels and feel what it was like to live and work on board.”

Mascot Tim conducts exciting maritime experiments with children, and he is accompanied by Virvelina, an adventurous character who hides treasures for the young ones to search for. Maritiman also has an excellent programme of events and guided tours, and the Matrosen snack bar provides refreshments so that sea explorers can throw themselves into more discoveries on board with renewed energy.

Web: www.maritiman.se
Facebook: maritiman
Instagram: @maritimangbg