For more information on Hurtigruten US products and latest offers, visit www.hurtigruten.us new Web site. Hurtigruten's Norway brochure, 2010 pdf can be downloaded at www.holtermanndesign.com/downloads/HR_Norway2010.pdfHurtigruten's Explorer brochure, 2010-11 pdf can be downloaded at www.holtermanndesign.com/downloads/HR_Explorer2010-11.pdf
1893: The first Hurtigruten voyage departs Trondheim for Hammerfest, via 11 harbors.1898: The Hurtigruten route expands southward to include Bergen, with three departures a week.1908: Kirkenes, near the Russian border, becomes the northern turning point of the coastal voyage.1925: The first ship to feature running water in all cabins is added to the Hurtigruten fleet.1936: Daily departures from Bergen begin. More than 230,000 passengers a year sail between a record number of ports aboard Hurtigruten’s 14 ships.1937: Hurtigruten equips all ships with sonar, an electronic logbook, and a radio tracking transmitter.1939–1945: Half the Hurtigruten fleet is lost, and a total of 700 passengers are killed, during World War II. Ironically, the Allies end up destroying twice as many ships as Norway’s German occupiers.1952: Seven new ships have been added since 1949. The entire rebuilt Hurtigruten fleet now features modern diesel engines.1982: As passenger numbers drop, Hurtigruten focuses on cargo. The first ship with a side hatch, for easy loading and unloading, is added to the fleet.1993: A new era begins with the June launch of the modern ship MS Kong Harald. The modernization of Hurtigruten’s fleet will result in 10 new ships being added to the fleet by the end of 2007.2001: On May 30, the Norwegian government lists the MS Lofoten as a national historical monument.2002: Two new ships, MS Trollfjord and MS Finnmarken, are launched.2003: The new MS Midnatsol is launched in Hamburg, Germany—making it the first Hurtigruten ship ever to be inaugurated outside of Norway. A Hurtigruten ship, the MS Nordnorge, travels the southern routes around Argentina, Chile, and the Antarctic for the first time ever in winter.2005: Traditional ships the MS Nordstjernen and MS Lofoten start sailing the so-called Nostalgic Routes in Norway in wintertime, alongside Hurtigruten’s more modern ships.2006: The MS Nordstjernen turns 50. The OVDS and TFDS Hurtigruten shipping companies merge to form Hurtigruten ASA. From mid-March, the MS Finnmarken is the first Hurtigruten ship to travel with the new company’s trademark smokestack paint: black with the red letter “H.” Hurtigruten ASA now boasts a fleet of 13 ships.2007: In May, a new expedition ship the MS Fram—at the time, the most modern vessel of its kind—starts service. Hurtigruten debuts a new route—worldwide expedition voyages between the Arctic and Antarctic—aboard the MS Fram.2008: Hurtigruten celebrates its 115th birthday. For more than a century, its passenger and cargo ships have connected northern and southern Norway.2010: MS Fram starts sailing to Spitsbergen.
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