Kategori: Other attractions

Østfoldmuseene – The Halden Canal Museum, Ørje

The Halden Canalmuseum, Ørje
The Halden Canalmuseum is part of the  Østfold museums, and is located in the old wood grinding factory at Ørje Brug. The museum conveys the rich cultural and natural history associated with the Halden watercourse.

The Øsfold museums – The Halden Canalmuseum
In the heart of Ørje is the Halden Canalmuseum, where you can explore how natural forces and human efforts have shaped the watercourse through the ages. The museum takes you on a journey from the landscape of the Ice Age to the heyday of timberfloating.

Cultural history – the journey of the timber
Central to the cultural history exhibition is the log. By following its journey from the forest, through the river's waterways and up to the sawmills and wood mills, you will become familiar with the history of log timberfloating.
Meet the loggers, the rafters, the sawmill owners – and the canal builder Engebret Soot.

The Halden watercourse has been used for floating timber for over 500 years. The timber came from the forests in the north – of Nes, Sør-Odal and Eidskog, as well as from Swedish areas such as West Värmland and Dalsland, and was transported through the watercourse to Fredrikshald (Halden), where it was processed and exported to Europe.

At the museum you can also watch a film about the history of the river, made in 2016, which is shown in our small movie theater.

Natural history – the imprint of the ice age
In the museum's inner circle, the glacier leads you into the natural history section.The retreat of the ice after the last ice age shaped the landscape of the Halden watercourse, with lakes, rivers and wetlands.
This unique landscape is home to a rich diversity of species, including rare animal species – so-called ice age immigrants.

The museum has several aquariums where you can see freshwater fish, crayfish and other species from the watercourse, as well as the forest's birds and mammals – and for the extra interested: the tracks they leave behind.

The children's museum
Haldenvassdragets Kanalmuseum is an exciting place for families with children. For the little ones, the house in the “forest” is ready for play, while the slightly older children can investigate small animals in the exciting “water channel”.The outdoor area offers play equipment, and from the pier outside you can experience the boating life with the large steamboats that still serve Ørje.

Østfoldmuseene has museums and visitor venues throughout Østfold!
For opening hours and events, see our website
Follow us on Facebook and Instagram for news, events and glimpses from the museums!

 

Svanfoss river lock

The lock provides access between Mjøsa and Vormas lower parts as well as Glomma between Rånåsfoss and Funnefoss and are among the few in the whole region. The lock was build during early 1900 and was opened in 1910 – and closed from 1973 to 1993, when a restored lock was reopened after a collaboration between NVE, Eidsvoll municipality, Nes municipality and Glommens and Laagens Brukseierforening.

There are opportunities for lock-in by contacting the lock guard at least an hour before the planned lock-in either from Vorma or Mjøsa – for more information see Nes municipality's pages.

The boat Elvekongen has boat trips up Vorma with lock in – for more information and ordering tickets see www.elvekongen.no

Member of Visit Greater Oslo 

The lime mill culture centre (Kalkmølla kulturstasjon)

Kalkmølla cultural center was established in 2026 and is today a cultural center for great music experiences. The building has fantastic acoustics and you can get close to the musicians during the concerts.

The history of Kalkmølla began in the millennium when monks came to Norway and wanted to build monasteries of stone. This provided the basis for an important industry in Bærum from the millennium until the beginning of the 19th century and Bærum's municipal coat of arms is the symbol of a lime kiln, several of which can be found in the area around Sanvidka and Slependen.

The history of lime extraction began in 1916 when shipowner and captain W.B.Markussen went ashore, moved from Grimstad and onto Hamang Gård. Here, a significant limestone passage ran across the property with Franzefossen. The waterfall is named after Knut Frantzen, an active businessman in the 16th century. In the late nineteenth century and until the First World War, tanneries, small industrial activities and the extraction of masonry stone, for which the limestone is well suited, were operated with varying success. Sandvika Kalkmølle/Franzefoss lime mill grew rapidly, first with a silo and packing plant for limestone flour opposite the mill by the waterfall, then a large crushing plant and concrete factory. In 1952, the open pit was empty of lime and the limestone vein had to be pursued with mining. When the mining was closed in 1992, the mine went in 2 floors 700 meters down to under Helgerud Church.

The importance of lime lies in its ability to neutralize acid and to release and absorb CO2. The lime in the Oslo field is from the Silurian (350 million years ago) where animal and plant remains were deposited in shallow seas together with large amounts of clay. In this soup, clay and lime separated like milk and cream, forming clay shales and more or less thick limestone beds. Limestone is a mild base whose surface reacts with acid until neutrality is reached. By grinding the limestone into flour, the surface is increased and it was found that it was a good way for agriculture to counteract acidic soil. This gave the new owner of Hamang Gård the idea of ​​building a mill, with power from Franzefossen, to grind the limestone into agricultural lime. This was the start of what we know today as Franzefoss Bruk. After World War II, there was a great need for building materials to rebuild the country and the operation was developed to include other products such as stone and the factory expanded with a large crushed stone plant and concrete factory.

Sandvikselven a salmon river

Sandvikselven was one of the best salmon rivers in Eastern Norway and the community's concern about the business operation was primarily related to the anticipated damming of the river. In 1917, construction began on the dam and the salmon ladder that can be seen in the river behind Kalkmølla, a turbine gate with a turbine and generator, a crusher and a mill with a silo. Architect Kristian Hjalmar Biong added good architectural values ​​to the building. The salmon ladder became an important element in the preservation of the river. Bærum Jeger og Fiskeforening does a fantastic job of cultivating the river and today the Sandvik River is full of fish and life.

In 2026, the dream of using the old lime mill as a concert venue became a reality. A grand piano was purchased with the help of Wolfgang Plagge and the Kalkmølla Kulturstasjon foundation.

More information can be found on Kalkmølla's website and on the signs placed outside the house facing the river. Everyone is welcome to take a break on the benches outside and take in the beautiful surroundings.

Hiking and biking in the area

It is very pleasant to walk down the river from us to Sandvika, about 30 minutes car-free walk to Sandvika bus station or up along Lomma to Bærums Verk where there are exciting galleries and craft shops, restaurants and a shopping mall. The trip to Bærums Verk takes just over 1 hour.

Enjoy your visit.

Holmsbu Church

During the summer months, there is both an open church and many cultural events in the artists' church itself and in the cultural chapel in the cemetery. The chapel also has exhibitions that show more of the artists in the Holmsbu colony than you can see in the Holmsbu Art Museum and in the church. Tours for larger and smaller groups are available all year round.

There was a time gap in Holmsbu when artists began to occupy the place from 1911. The small community supported itself mostly from fishing and seafaring, and lived in simple conditions. Rich people from Drammen and Oslo had discovered Holmsbu, but kept to themselves, and often stayed at the seaside hotel. Now the artists flocked, eventually under the leadership of Henrik Sørensen. In the summers, up to 50 artists could be found with brushes and palettes on the rocky cliffs and in the forest. One would think that the cultural collision was complete, but instead there was a warm meeting between the leading artistic and cultural figures of the time.

The church in Holmsbu was the pride of the local people. It was built in 1887 on the initiative of the women's association, which raised money and persuaded forest owners in the area to donate timber for the building. When the men were home from the sea, they had to volunteer. In 1954, the church needed to be renovated, and Henrik Sørensen took the initiative to have artists decorate the church as a thank you to the local people for the welcome they had received. The municipality did not have the money to support the project, so Sørensen traveled to Oslo and collected a leftover stock of plates that had been used for the decorations in Oslo City Hall, for which he had been responsible. The nearly 20 artists who participated were a true mix of Christians, atheists, Catholics and Protestants. Most of them had no experience with sacred art. Sørensen was content to decide on an overall color scheme: the red color of love on the walls of the nave, and green as a symbol of hope in the choir section. Otherwise, the artists were given free rein.

At first glance, the result is a confusing mix of completely different motifs and styles. But those who look closer see that there is still a common thread in the decoration. It is about doubt and faith, and about what happens when the biblical story is allowed to unfold in Holmsbu.

Guided tours of the church is offered all year. For a guided tour contact Linda LM895@kirken.no / 95047416

 

 

Production of salt – Blakstad

Salt was made by boiling seawater in large iron pots. The pot had to be large and as flat-bottomed as possible, so that the water evaporated as quickly as possible.
This required large amounts of firewood, but they had plenty of that from the forest.

There were various methods for increasing the salt content in seawater, by utilizing the sun in the summer and in the winter, seawater was frozen and the ice was gradually removed. Salt is separated when the salt water freezes into ice.

Salt water is heavier than fresh water, and this is especially the case at river mouths. Used hollowed-out pine or tree trunks were used to bring up more saline water from deeper layers. To prevent rain from diluting the seawater during the process, roofs were often built over the salt pan, so-called salt arches. There are 6 known salt arches along the Asker and Bærum coasts.

Drøbak – home of artists

It was here that Tidemand and Gude met for the last time. Christian Krohg also spent many summers in Drøbak in the years 1904 to 1912, at this time he had no permanent residence. Chr Krogh was constantly seen wandering around in a dressing gown and slippers in search of picture frames and paintings, or a trip to "Samlaget" after a good drink. He enjoyed chatting with the residents and found many of his models through these meetings.

Krogh was temperamental and committed to society and was not afraid to express his opinion on developments. He believed that art should serve a social function and painted the painting "Albertine in the police doctor's waiting room" which hangs in the National Gallery, and wrote the book "Albertine". This was seized already on the day of publication for the mention of sexual life and Krogh was fined NOK 100 by the Supreme Court.

Drøbak's own Anton Thoresen (1884-1968) was a well-liked painter. In he depicted his home town in hundreds of pictures and a Thoresen picture hung in most homes and he decorated the walls of the Reenskaug hotel where Knut Hamsun also has his own room on the floor above reception.

"Fiskekroken" alley

One of the city's most beautiful streets is Fiskekroken with its beautifully preserved wooden houses and rose gardens. An alley between the square and the harbour. The families of the fishermen who lived here rented out their houses to bathers to earn an extra penny. They themselves moved to the outhouse and life took place around the simple jetty where the boats were moored, the nets hung out to dry and where the water post called gossip bank, was the meeting place for exchanging the latest news among the local residents.

Artist town with 10 galleries

Today, Drøbak is a vibrant city of artists with a number of galleries, artist workshops and great shops with design, fashion and interior design in the narrow streets in and outside the city core.

Mjøssamlingene, maritime museum

Lake Mjøsas maritime museum is a special heritage site. Historical vessels can be seen along the pier when they not are on the lake. The museum is situated by the old ferry location where Lake Mjøsa flows into the river Vorma and shows the 19th century shipping environment. The oldest of the warehouses dates back to 1801. The guided tour tells the colourful stories from the time when Lake Mjøsa was the main transport route for people, goods and timber. Mjøssamlingene has its own pier and the area is well suited for exploration and recreation. There are guided tours in the weekends during summer. Groups can make appointments.

Mjøssamlingene is a part of Mjøsmuseet, a regional museum of cultural history in Gjøvik, Toten and Minnesund. Other museums includes: Mjøsas ark, an exhibition about Lake Mjøsa at Kapp, the open-air museum Eiktunet in Gjøvik, and two historic houses, Gjøvik gård and Stenberg.

Mjøssamlingene, Minnestranda 35, N-2092 Minnesund.

Tel. 911 70 500 (Mjøsmuseet)

post@mjosmuseet.no

www.mjosmuseet.no

How to get there:From E6: exit road direction Minnesund/Gjøvik Rv 33. Continue towards Langset and take exit to the right just before the bridge.

Welcome!

Member of Visit Greater Oslo 

Oscarsborg Fortress

Oscarsborg Fortress is a jewel in the Drøbak narrow. In summer, Oscarsborg is perfect for families and for those interested in nature, culture and history. Oscarsborg Fortress Museum presents the history of the place and organises guided tours. There are plenty of activities for children. A safari through the subterranean tunnels below the fortress, obstacle courses, bathing beaches and crab fishing.

The unique surroundings of the fortress provide a fantastic arena for the theatre, opera and concerts which are organised during the summer season. At Oscarsborg you will find an art gallery, exhibitions, hotel and a good selection of places to eat. In summer you can travel by ferry from Drøbak and Oslo, or arrive with your own boat to Oscarsborg Marina.

History

Akershus Fortress had been the defender of the capital Oslo/Christiania for hundred of years. In the sixteenth century there was a great deal of unrest in Europe and it became important to have a fortification further out from the capital. The Drøbak Sound was identified as a strategic position for defence. In 1640 King Christian IV in Copenhagen ordered a blockhouse to be built on the Southern Kaholmen, which was finished in 1643.

The state bought the two Kaholmen Islands in 1845. The planning began immediately and the construction works started in 1846. After the visit of King Oscar in 1855 the fortress was given the name Oscarsborg. However, already in the 1860’s the fortress was out of date, developments in artillery had been rapid and the technical revolution had created a transformation in the way warfare was conducted.

Originally the fortress Oscarsborg was created to resist attack from sea and not over land. To withstand attacks over land the fortress was extended from 1890. New gun batteries were placed on Kaholmen, Håøya and on both sides of the fjord. An underwater stone wall (jeté), minefield, torpedo battery and entrenchments was also built.

When the negotiations with Sweden took place in 1905, the Oscarsborg fortress was regarded as the strongest fortress in northern Europe, with a defensive line that stretched 10 km from the Heer Entrenchment in the east to the top of Håøya in the west.

On the 9th of April 1940 Oscarsborg Fortress endured its first real trial. The fortress delayed the German attack by sinking the heavy cruiser “Blücher”; the newest cruiser of Germany. This slowed the attack, which gave the King, Government and Parliament sufficient time to evacuate Oslo and later on take up the fight against the occupation of Norway.

After the Second World War the strategic importance of Oscarsborg reduced and the last fortification was ended on the 1st of January 1993 and in 2002 the fortress became finally abolished.

In 2004 the Parliament decided to create The National Fortifications Heritage(“Nasjonale festningsverk”) which has the responsibility for the maintenance of 14 historical fortresses, among them Oscarsborg Fortress.

Cultural arena

Oscarsborg is a unique cultural arena for opera and concerts throughout the summer season. This year has an exciting programme with an acoustic pop/rock festival, wandering theatre troupes and fantastic opera experiences in the courtyard throughout August – just to mention a few. Oscarsborg has an art gallery run by Avistegnerne in Drøbak. “Forsvarets Hus” (“Military House”) in Kommandantboligen shows how the Norwegian military is today.

Getting here

The island can be reached by boat from Drøbak all year and there are buses from Oslo to Drøbak with regular departures. During spring and summer months you may take the ferry B21/B22 from Oslo, Aker Brygge to Oscarsborg and Drøbak. Ferry scedules

 

Member of Visit Greater Oslo

Kjeller Airport – one of the oldest airports in use

Kjeller Airport – one of the world's oldest airports.

Not far from Oslo, on the outskirts of Lillestrøm is Kjeller Airport. The place that gave Roald Amundsen Norway's first international pilot certificate in 1914, still offers pilot training. But for the average Joe, it might be more it tempting to stay grounded on soft grass with a view of the skies?

The airport for light aircrafts, Småflyhavna at Kjeller, welcomes you to pack a lunch and enjoy flying activity in historic settings, as long as you stay away from the still military areas, marked to not enter; “Adgang forbudt”.

The modest beginning

It started at Kjeller in 1912, just nine years after the world's first motorized flight, when the first plane arrived in boxes from France and was assembled at Kjeller. The first flight took place a week later and this was the forerunner of the Norwegian Armys Air Force, which was established in 1914. In 1913, maintenance and construction of aircraft began.

Throughout the years of war

World War I increased the allocation to the defense budget so Kjeller was developed and equipped for what turned into World War I. Nearly 100 buildings, of which 16 were sheds or hangars for planes, were erected by 1918.

During the interwar period, aircraft construction gained momentum. Aircraft types on the license were developed (one of these has been preserved and still flies at Kjeller to this day).

On April 9th 1940, the Germans bombed the airport base, before occupying it, making further expansions to the site. The aircraft factory became a maintenance base for German aircraft and engines, thus exposed to first, one American bomb attack in 1943, and then a British one in 1944.

 

From 1945 until today

After the war, the Armed Forces of Norway has continued to maintain aircraft and expanded its operations at Kjeller, in line with the aircraft operated by the Norwegian Air Force. Today, the business at Kjeller Airport is one of the largest workplaces in the municipality. In 1955 the civilian flying club, Nedre Romerike Flyklubb was founded and given permission to operate from the airport. Today, several organizations operate their activitis from the airport. They offer flight schools and basic training for pilots.

Enriched with a unique collection of old aircraft, the fflying club has set up a Veteran Aircraft Group that takes care of these and keeps them flying. About 20 of these aircraft are over 50 years old and are classified as cultural monuments.

Kjeller also has a self-build environment! The most modern constructions appear in the hangars – so, those who think that self-built planes consist of an old engine, some aluminum plates, worn-out tools, should stop by to see.