Freiburg museum moves 11-metre whale through walls

Switzerland’s Natural History Museum of Fribourg has moved its 11-metre, 1,650-kilogram sei whale specimen to its future home, SRF reported. A crane lifted the more than 170-year-old whale through openings specially cut into the walls at both locations.

The whale was transported by lorry for about half a kilometre through the city of Fribourg before being lifted into the new museum building. It arrived undamaged and is now the first resident of the future museum.

The specimen was a whale that stranded in Normandy in 1852. Its skin was specially prepared and stretched over a wooden frame, leaving it well preserved to this day.

Before the move, specialists cleaned and restored the whale and then carefully wrapped and padded it to protect it during the operation.

The new museum is being built in a former 1905 arsenal on Route des Arsenaux. The listed building is being extensively renovated, enlarged and converted into a modern museum with about 6,100 square metres of usable space. The project also includes new exhibition areas, a foyer, cafeteria, museum shop, event rooms and a public green space.

Voters in the canton of Fribourg approved funding of more than 65 million Swiss francs for the project in 2023. The museum is scheduled to reopen at the new location at the end of 2028.

The remaining museum objects are due to follow the whale next year. The current museum will remain open until autumn 2027, but visitors will have to wait until the new museum opens to see the whale again.