Whaler's Monument, also known as The Whaling Monument (Norwegian: ''Hvalfangstmonumentet''), is a rotating bronze memorial statue situated by the harbor in

Sandefjord, Norway Sandefjord () is a city and the most populous municipality in Vestfold og Telemark county, Norway. The municipality of Sandefjord was established on 1 January 1838. The municipality of Sandar was merged into Sandefjord on 1 January 1969. On 1 ...

. It is located at the end of Jernbanealleen, which is the main street in town. The monument was created by Norwegian sculptor

Knut Steen Knut Steen (19 November 1924 – 22 September 2011) was a Norwegian sculptor. Steen lived in Sandefjord for most of his life and dedicated works such as the Whaler's Monument to the city. Many of his sculptures may also be seen at Midtåsen ...

for which he won a competition in which more than one hundred sculptors had competed. A commission was granted to Knut Steen in 1953. The work took seven years to complete. It was first unveiled in 1960 and has become one of his most widely recognized works of sculpture. It features an elegant, fishing boat raised by a whale fin. It depicts four stylized figures of whalers with oars in an open boat, with harpoons ready and water spraying. It is made in the style of a

compass rose A compass rose, sometimes called a wind rose, rose of the winds or compass star, is a figure on a compass, map, nautical chart, or monument used to display the orientation of the cardinal directions (north, east, south, and west) and their i ...

and rotates slowly. Central parts are made of bronze and weighs 26 tons. The dramatic effect is enhanced by the water columns in the fountain that are regulated at different heights. The pool has 128 underwater lights. Around the fountain are stylized reliefs in granite from modern whaling. The costs associated with the design and construction of the sculpture were donated to the city by shipowner and whaling magnate,

Lars Christensen Lars Christensen (6 April 1884 – 10 December 1965) was a Norwegian shipowner and whaling magnate. He was also a philanthropist with a keen interest in the exploration of Antarctica. Career Lars Christensen was born at Sandar in Vestfold, No ...

. Earlier Consul Christensen had also funded the costs associated with the construction and development of the

Sandefjord Museum Sandefjordmuseene (''Hvalfangstmuseet'') is a museum located in Sandefjord, Norway. It is dedicated to the whaling industry and is the only specialized museum on the subject of whales and whaling in Europe. Since 2009, the museum has been associa ...

Gallery

File:Baksiden av monumentet.jpg File:Sandefjord, Norwegia 08.JPG File:Sandefjord valfångstmonumentet.JPG File:Hvalfangstmonumentet, Sandefjord, 19.9.jpg

References

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