Back to work Category: Technics & design, Interior Vardø, Norwegen

Steilneset Memorial Memorial for the Victims of the Witch Trials

The Steilneset Memorial is a poignant memorial on the Barents Sea commemorating the 91 people who were sentenced to death during the witch hunts in Vardø in the 17th century. Designed by Peter Zumthor and Louise Bourgeois, the memorial combines architectural austerity with artistic sensitivity.

Technical design

The memorial is designed as a 120-meter-long, narrow corridor resting on a delicate wooden substructure reminiscent of a traditional Norwegian fish drying rack, where fish are dried in the salty sea air. The supporting structure consists of rhythmically arranged wooden frames reinforced with steel cables. A textile outer skin completely envelops the structure and reacts sensitively to light, wind, and weather. The result is a building that is in constant dialogue with its surroundings.

Inside, a continuous walkway leads through the darkened room. Along the wall are 91 narrow window openings, each representing one of the victims. We were commissioned to manufacture the stainless steel window openings. Precisely embedded in the wall, they define the clear geometry of the openings and form a deliberate contrast to the wooden supporting structure and the textile building envelope.