Vesterheim Norwegian American Museum
Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum embodies the living heritage of Norwegian immigrants to America. Sharing this cultural legacy can inspire people of all backgrounds to celebrate tradition.
With 16 historic buildings in its main complex, which occupies most of a square block in downtown Decorah, Iowa, and two National Register sites just outside the city, Vesterheim houses over 24,000 artifacts, which include large samplings from the fine, decorative, and folk arts, and the tools and machinery of early agriculture, lumbering, and other immigrant industries.
When Norwegian immigrants wrote back to Norway about Vesterheim, their western home, they spoke for countless others from many cultures who helped build a nation in the New World.
Just as Norwegian immigration to America began to peak in 1877, at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, Norwegian Americans began collecting and preserving objects documenting their chapter of the immigrant story, making them pioneers in the preservation of cultural diversity in America.
Today that early collection has grown into Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum, an independent not-for-profit organization, and the most comprehensive museum in the United States dedicated to a single immigrant group. But Vesterheim is more than a world-class museum. It is a cultural center dedicated to preserving living traditions by offering classes in Norwegian folk art and culture, Elderhostels, and special programs for pre-school, elementary, secondary, and college students. Vesterheim also hosts events, lectures, and special exhibitions scheduled throughout the year.
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