University of BergenPublished: 19.05.2009 | Author: Nils Georg Brekke
Skåråsmyri marsh and disappearing signs of the peat cutting that once was, though an old road still shows the way through the landscape (Svein Nord).
Skaråsmyri; in 1874 a large peat bog which belonged to Soltveit farm was sold for 1600 specie dollars. Around 1903 a limited liability company, A/S Skaraasmyren was established which, up until 1920, was involved in a big way in peat extraction for sale to Bergen. The company owned a storage building with a loading bay and equipment in Saltvika in Straume, and had machines and buildings in the bogs.
The company went bankrupt, and in 1927 the property was sold at auction to Hjelme Municipality (now Øygarden) for kr.6,300. People from Øygarden took peat from the Skarås bog for their own use, but during the Second World War there was a new demand for peat for energy, and again there was large-scale activity at the Skarås bog. Øygarden municipality then sold the area once more, for the moment to the Government in 1980.
