Sjöfartsmuseet Akvariet sits beside Stigbergstorget in Gothenburg’s Majorna district, blending a maritime history museum with a modern aquarium. The institution traces back to 1912, when ship owner Werner Lundqvist helped found the Nautiska föreningen’s museum, which opened in rented rooms at Skeppsbron in 1913. After stops at Gothenburg’s 1923 jubilee exhibition, the museum found its permanent home when it was formally inaugurated on July 14, 1933, alongside the city’s Sjömanstornet monument to seafarers.
The aquarium wing is the newest chapter of that story. Following an extensive renovation, Sjöfartsmuseet Akvariet reopened on December 10, 2022, with an underground aquarium building, a new Karl Johansgatan entrance, and fifteen tanks exploring marine habitats from Nordic waters to the tropics. The transformation helped earn the museum Sweden’s Museum of the Year 2024 award from Sveriges Museer and Swedish ICOM.
Stats at a Glance
- Location: Majorna, Gothenburg, Sweden
- Opened: 1933 (museum); aquarium reopened December 2022
- Tanks: 15 aquariums
- Signature exhibit: 400,000-liter Korallhavet coral reef tank
- Species: About 100 coral species plus resident blacktip reef sharks
- Recognition: Named Museum of the Year 2024 (Sveriges Museer / Swedish ICOM)
- Famous for: One of Europe’s largest living-coral aquariums
A Century by the Harbor
The museum’s roots go back to 1912, when Gothenburg’s Nautiska föreningen founded a maritime collection with backing from shipowner Werner Lundqvist, who provided its first rented premises at Skeppsbron. After relocating through the city’s 1923 jubilee exhibition, the museum moved into its permanent building, inaugurated on July 14, 1933, as part of a city-wide maritime celebration that also unveiled the Sjömanstornet seafarers’ monument nearby.
Inside, the museum still traces Gothenburg’s identity as a port city, with exhibits covering the Swedish East India Company’s trade voyages and the mass emigration carried by the Swedish America Line. The building is operated as part of the City of Gothenburg’s cultural administration, with co-financing from Region Västra Götaland.
Beneath the Coral Sea
The 2022 expansion added an underground aquarium wing centered on Korallhavet, a 400,000-liter tank built around roughly 30 tonnes of coral rock and home to about a hundred coral species along with resident blacktip reef sharks nicknamed Hajdi and Vega. Museum staff describe it as one of Europe’s largest aquariums for living coral.
Beyond the coral tank, visitors move through fourteen more aquariums spanning cold Nordic waters to warmer seas, alongside a ship simulator and galleries on Gothenburg’s harbor culture, making the combined museum-and-aquarium one of the city’s most visited cultural attractions.
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Sjöfartsmuseet Akvariet FAQs
Where is Sjöfartsmuseet Akvariet located?
It sits at Karl Johansgatan 1-3 next to Stigbergstorget in the Majorna district of Gothenburg, Sweden.
When did Sjöfartsmuseet Akvariet open?
The museum traces to 1912-1913 and was inaugurated in its permanent building on July 14, 1933. Its aquarium wing reopened on December 10, 2022, after a major renovation.
What is the main attraction at the aquarium?
Korallhavet, a 400,000-liter living coral reef tank holding about a hundred coral species and resident blacktip reef sharks, is the centerpiece of the aquarium’s fifteen tanks.
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