The model of Rombaksbotn

At the innermost part of the Rombaksfjord, there was once a vibrant community associated with the construction of the Ofotbanen. Around the year 1902, there were close to 500 people living in Rombaksbotn, and the place had shops, hotels, cafés, a post office, a police station and a prison. Here people and supplies arrived by steamship, before the transport continued to the plant on foot, by horse and cable car.

The model of Rombaksbotn provides a close encounter with this short, intense part of Narvik's history. It was built by Per Henrik Mørk and shows the construction city with houses, people, trains and fjords. Old photographs and maps have been the starting point for the work, which consists of a detailed downscaling of Rombaksbotn.

This is a monument to the navvy era, the construction of the railway and the basis for Narvik's development. When the work on the Ofot Line ended, houses were demolished or moved, and activity gradually disappeared from Rombaksbotn. Some of the buildings and activities later became part of the new town at Viktoriahavn, which was named Narvik.

The model stands at Narvik train station, close to the railway track that was the very reason why Rombaksbotn emerged. Here you can see how a small community by the fjord became an important hub in the history of the Ofotbanen, ore transport and Narvik as a city.