Kjerringoy Trading Post

Kjerringoy was one of the trading posts, handelssteder, that controlled commerce along the Nordland coast: fishermen from Lofoten and the north sold their catch here and bought supplies on credit, and the merchant family, the Zahls, grew wealthy on the arrangement. Fifteen buildings survive from the nineteenth century with much of their original furniture, stock and fittings, including the main house, the shop, the bakery, the boathouse and the servants' quarters, giving an unusually complete picture of the social gap between merchant and fisherman. Knut Hamsun spent time here as a young man and used the place in his novels. The setting is striking, with the Lofoten wall visible across the water on clear days.

History

The trading post was established in the late 1700s, and its merchants bought fish in Lofoten and elsewhere in Nordland, dried or salted it and sold it in Bergen. Business boomed from about 1820 under Christian Lorentzen Sverdrup, owner from 1803 until 1829, and reached its height around 1875 under Erasmus Zahl; trade ended at the end of the 1950s, and Nordland Museum bought the premises in 1959 (Wikipedia, Kjerringøy trading post).

What to look for

• The main house - the merchant family's rooms with original furnishing.
• The shop and bakery - working premises kept with their fittings.
• The servants' quarters - the contrast in living conditions on the same site.
• The coastal setting - white sand and the Lofoten peaks across the water.

When to go

June to August, when the buildings are open and guided; outside the season the site is closed though the surroundings can be visited. The ferry crossing runs year-round but on a reduced winter timetable.

Things to know

The buildings open only in summer with guided access, and the season is short. Reaching Kjerringoy involves a drive and a ferry, so a visit takes most of a day. There is little else at the site beyond a cafe.

Nearby

Bodo and Saltstraumen lie south; the Lofoten islands are visible across the Vestfjord.

Key facts