Published: 21.02.2013 | Author: Nils Georg Brekke
Dwelling house and store from the Øystese hamlet. Scale drawing by Gerhard Fischer, 1915. (owner: Riksantikvaren (Ark nr. 278)).
KVAM RURAL MUSEUM
One of the houses in the old Øystese hamlet, a smokehouse from the 1700s, joined to store, loft and shed, was measured out by Gerhard Fischer in 1915. It is this house that stands in the row at Storeteigen today, together with a “kraata-stova” - decorated house - and a storehouse on stilts from Vavollen. The house from Øystese hamlet was for many years on Stopulshaugen as a rural museum, before the museum was moved to Storeteigen. This is a small smallholding from the end of the 1700s, with dwelling house and hayshed built together. The joined buildings from Øystese show an interesting variant; dwelling house and shed, with slate-covered shed and covered passageway, gathered under the same roof. At Storeteigen we also find one of the oldest furniture workshops in Kvam.
Floor plan of the dwelling house and shed from Øystesetunet (from Brochmann, O. (1944) Hus i Norge. Oslo.)
The decorated border in Vavollstova has been repainted with basis in an older, original pattern (above).
“Kroting” of the smoke-houses is a form of decoration with roots in the Middle Ages. With a lime “soup” and brick red the “krota” women drew up bands of beautiful geometrical patterns on the timber when the houses were prepared for weddings and the main festivities.