KUBEN Aust-Agder museum and archives

KUBEN Museum in Arendal.

KUBEN (the Cube) is part of the Aust-Agder museum and archive, and is located in the country's most modern museum and archive building on Langsæ in Arendal.

KUBEN is a cultural history institution and here you will find exhibitions focusing on the history of Arendal and Aust-Agder.

Behind the fasade
A bold and revealing exhibition about the elite's hidden life in Arendal at the beginning of the 19th century. The exhibition is based on the poet Conrad Nicolai Schwach's manuscript "Erindringer af mit Liv" which in 2016 became part of Norway's documentary heritage.

Childhood (permanent exhibition)
The exhibition is made for children, and is about childhood in the 20th century. Travel with the time machine and try to milk the cow, hoist sails, sing in the skipping rope or dress up!

1886 Bank Crash in Arendal (permanent)
The crash in 1886 hit Arendal like lightning from clear skies, and became a disaster for both the city and the surrounding district. In retrospect, this was not to be talked about in the formerly so rich city.

Arne Vinje Gunnerud Sculptures (permanent)
The exhibition "Arne Vinje Gunnerud Sculptures" is a fantastic collection of sculptures by sculptor and Arendal artist Arne Vinje Gunnerud.

Enslaved
"Enslaved" is a three-part exhibition that has slavery as its main theme. For Arendal, the story of Fredensborg is both local history and world history. The ship sank off Tromøy in 1768, and the wreck was found in 1974. Fredensborg is considered to be the world's best documented slave ship found as a wreck. The exhibition shows many of the objects that were found during the excavation of the wreck. The last part of the exhibition is about modern slavery. "Our slaves" deals, among other things, with various forms of slavery as it occurs today.

The entrance ticket with a guided tour will cost NOK 140 - adult, NOK 70 - student, NOK 15 children (2020).

Due to distance restrictions associated with Covid-19, there is limited space for guided tours (10). To secure your place, buy tickets in our online store.

Open magazine - tastings from the collections (permanent but with changing exhibition objects by theme)

N505 Sea transport - Now we show some of our beautiful objects related to shipping. Seafarers experienced "the big world" and brought home knowledge and impulses. Ever since the museum was established in 1832, the desire was also to convey objects from other cultures and continents. The call "Remember the Museum!" was pasted into the logbooks of ships going on long voyages.

Imprint - From medieval letters to digital darkness? (permanent)
Experience some of the past impressions from Aust-Agder and the stories they tell. You will also get an insight into how we create and take care of our digital prints today.

Café
KUBEN has a simple cafe where you can get a cup of coffee, a lefse or a chocolate. On the weekends we also sell freshly baked waffles.

Reading room
KUBEN stores around 8,500 shelf meters with archives and 50,000 books. In the reading room you get access to the archives and books KUBEN keeps. The reading room is open to everyone and has free wireless internet. You book a place by phone.

Merdøgaard museum
Merdø in the skerries outside Arendal is well worth a visit. Here you will find Merdøgaard, a small coastal farm with a skipper's house from 1736. Guided tour every full hour from 12-16 during the school's summer holidays. In the museum area there is also a swimming beach and a small cafe.

How to get to the KUBEN (The Cube)?
There is now a bus to KUBEN. The bus stop you use is called the Museum. Lines 110, 113 and 150 run from Arendal bus terminal to KUBEN.
The bus stop is located along the garden of old Langsæ farm.
Return buses to the city are lines 112 and 150.
Route information can be found at www.akt.no

Or you can get in your own car. There are free parking spaces in front of the building.

Entrance fees at KUBEN (2021):
Adults: NOK 90,-
Students: NOK 45,-
Children aged 0-16: free.