Aerial view of Brandal village and the polar museum Aarvak
Hareid · Sunnmøre · Møre og Romsdal

Brandal

ATouchoftheArcticSea

S urrounded by ocean, mountains and untamed west coast nature, Brandal also adds artic flavor to the table. The small village is the home of the polar museum Aarvak, where captivating stories of sealing, winter hunting, and the unforgiving forces of nature are told.

Village Snapshot
Residents 340
Landscape Fjord & Ocean
Region Sunnmøre
Municipality Hareid
County Møre og Romsdal
Known for Polar museum Aarvak
Nearest city Ålesund — 25 min (boat)
Brandal village by the fjord

Photo: Private

Ships, Sealers and the Arctic Sea

Situated on the eastern side of the island Hareidlandet, overlooking the fjord named Sulafjorden, Brandal is a little place with a big history. Starting in 1898, Brandal used to be an important centre for sealing and expeditions originating from Norway’s west coast. From here, nearly 60 ships set sail, carrying courageous men and boys as young as 15 years old. More than 40 of these vessels succumbed to the merciless and icy waters.

It was Peter S. Brandal (1870–1933) who set it all in motion. After leaving school at 15 to become a fisherman, he built larger, stronger vessels capable of navigating polar ice. His ship Minna made the first sealing voyage from Brandal in 1898 — the start of an era that would see the village send 57 ships into Arctic waters. The sealers brought home not only pelts and blubber, but also captured live polar bears and musk oxen to deliver to zoos across Europe.

The Museum at the Water’s Edge

Today, the stories from those Arctic voyages live on at Ishavsmuseet Aarvak — Norway’s largest polar museum, housed in a former sealskin processing shed right on Brandal’s waterfront. The centrepiece is the vessel Aarvak itself, built in Bergen in 1912 and the oldest surviving ship custom-built for sealing. After nearly 70 years of continuous service, Aarvak was placed in dry dock inside the museum in 1998. Alongside it sits Polarstar, Norway’s first steel-hulled sealing vessel, built in 1948 and now protected by the Norwegian Directorate for Cultural Heritage. Together, the museum’s 2,500 square metres of exhibitions and an archive covering over 500 Arctic vessels tell the full story of a century of polar enterprise.

The Arctic sealing vessel Aarvak in dry dock at Ishavsmuseet

The vessel Aarvak, built in 1912 — now preserved inside the museum. Photo: Islandmen, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Close to Everything

Panoramic view of Brandal and Sulafjorden
Photo: Private

Today, nobody goes sealing in Brandal anymore. The 340 people of Brandal are likely to get in the car, though — Brandal is only a couple of minutes’ drive from the town of Hareid and a mere 25-minute boat ride from the city of Ålesund. This village is a place where you can withdraw and take in majestic nature when you feel like it — and also get that bigger city pulse within half an hour.

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Mountains, Fjord and Open Sea

Brandal sits on the shore of Sulafjorden, a nine-kilometre fjord that plunges to 445 metres and connects to the great Storfjorden system. The surrounding landscape on Hareidlandet ranges from gentle shoreline walks to the 668-metre summit of Melshornet — the peak that towers directly above the municipality of Hareid and offers panoramic views across islands, fjords and open ocean. Closer to the village, the coastline invites sea fishing, kayaking and quiet evenings watching the light change over the water.

Village Services

What’s Here

Services, activities, and amenities available in Brandal and within a short drive.

Public Services

In the village
  • Primary school
  • Bus

Leisure

In the village
  • Small boat harbour
  • Sea fishing

Within 45 min

Regional access
  • Vinmonopolet
  • Dentist
  • Library
  • Mosque
  • Church
  • Airport
  • Swimming pool
  • Hospital
  • Doctor's office
  • High school
  • Junior high school
  • Kindergarten
  • Pharmacy
  • Fitness center
  • Movie theater
  • Hotel/guesthouse
  • Shopping center
  • Pub
  • Restaurant/cafe
  • Electric car charging
  • Gas station
  • Grocery store
  • Surfing
  • Volleyball
  • Frisbee golf
  • Golf
  • Lake/river fishing
  • Aerial sports
  • Handball
  • Shooting range
  • Soccer club
  • Choir
Location

Where is Brandal?

Brandal sits on the eastern shore of Hareidlandet in Sunnmøre, Møre og Romsdal. The village overlooks Sulafjorden and is a short drive from Hareid and a 25-minute boat ride from Ålesund.

Brandal

Municipality Hareid
Region Sunnmøre
County Møre og Romsdal
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Sources & Credits

Photography

Main photo and article photography: Private. Aarvak vessel photo by Islandmen (CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons).

Text

Text by Marion Solheim, journalist and co-founder of Freysta.