A federation for the use and preservation of historical vessels and coastal environment
The federation Forbundet KYSTEN was founded in 1979. At the end of 2011, the Association have about 9.500 members througout Norway and abroad and 117 local branches. The object of the Association is to work to strengthen our identity as a coastal people, to maintain, transfer and develop traditional knowledge and practical learning (crafts, seamanship etc.) and to improve the standards of protection of our coastal culture. The local branches rally people from their communities to restore or build replicas of boats that are representative of the particular areas heritage. The original intent was to fix or build boats. But the focus has evolved. The scope of its activities has widened constantly. Working with the local character of a given area, the most ambitous of the local branches strive to create nothing less than coastal cultural centers, where one can go to experience the very foundations of the coastal community; the food, the work - the life. And the center of it all, the boats.
Preservation of protected lighthouses is a vital part of our activity as well.
In Norway, traditional crafts and knowledge associated with shipping and fishing have played a central role for several thousand years. The accumulated knowledge that such traditions represent has intrinsic value as culture. Forbundet KYSTEN want to see coastal culture and traditional crafts in a global perspective. We want to promote international cooperation for the protection of this part of cultural heritage.
Brest 2012: Norway is once again "Guest of honour" at the festival Brest 2012 in France, the biggest maritime festival in the world. This year’s cultural heritage fleet is bringing along cutting-edge Norwegian marine technology, the best of Norwegian handicraft traditions in addition to two thousand years of fabled shipping history. And all this is loaded on-board more than 20 historic ships which will be docking at the world’s largest maritime festival in the French port of Brest from 13–19 July 2012. Read more.