University of BergenPublished: 26.09.2015 | Author: Nils Georg Brekke
The “Bualoft” at Kjetland from the 1600s or 1700s. (Svein Nord)
On the farm Kjetland there is an old house with a loft – probably from the 1600s or early 1700s. The exterior is not radically different from other houses of similar size, but inside we find ourselves in a building from times past.
Fine timber and structural details bear witness to old craftsmanship. Today it is difficult to date it with certainty. On one of the logs we can count 150 growth rings.
The house originally stood on the place where the woodshed now stands, on property No. one. At the end of the 1800s the house was living quarters for servant folk on the farm. In summertime, with lots of people around, this was a good place to spend the night. At that time the house had a loft and an external gallery. After the land reform, the house was moved and erected as a store on the steamship quay in Haugsdal. In 1965 it was dismounted with the purpose of erecting it at a museum, but in 1984 the house was returned to Kjetland and re-erected in its original state, with gallery and loft.
