title: Nordic Bible Museum
text: # Nordic Bible Museum
  
  The Nordic Bible Museum (Norwegian: Nordisk bibelmuseum) (Nobimu), located in Oslo, Norway, is the first Bible museum in the Nordic countries.
  
  ## History and organization
  
  The museum was started by Rune Arnhoff [no], a Bible collector holding the largest collection of Bibles in the Nordic countries. Until 2016, when it was purchased by Arnhoff, the collection had previously belonged to the Norwegian Bible Society. Arnhoff has stated that while he is a Jehovah's Witness, the museum is his own personal project and not associated with the organization. At the time of opening, there were approximately 2,500 Bibles in the collection; many more have since been donated by the public.
  
  The Nordic Bible Museum was inaugurated on 31 May 2018 by Member of Parliament Kristin Ørmen Johnsen. It is located at Nedre Slottsgate 4C in Oslo's city center.
  
  It is organized as a foundation run by about 40 volunteers.
  
  ## Exhibitions
  
  The museum has the Nordic countries' largest collection of over 5,000 Bibles as of 2021 and contains a varied selection of Nordic and non-Nordic Bibles. Some of the rarest are an edition of the Gustav Vasa Bible from 1541, the Christian III Bible [no] from 1550 (the Reformation Bible), an original page from the Gutenberg Bible (the only one on display in Norway), a Latin Bible (Vulgate) from 1487, the first Sámi-language Bible published in 1811, an edition of the first Finnish Bible translation printed in Finland in 1685 and parchment manuscripts from approximately 1250.
  
  There are also themed exhibitions on the King James Version – the most printed Bible – and a collection of miniature Bibles, the world's smallest printed Bible among them.
  
  During the COVID-19 pandemic, the museum focused on digital exhibitions: parts of the collection were digitized, allowing visitors to view them remotely, and the museum held webinars on the history of the Bible.
  
  