Published: 19.05.2009 | Author: Nils Georg Brekke, Johannes Gjerdåker
Bolstadøyri around the turn of the former century. (Knud Knudsen, owner Billedsamlingen, Universitetsbiblioteket i Bergen (KK 960 (21x27))).
The village at Bolstadøyri acquired its structure around the middle of the 1800s, but from the old days there has been a meeting place here; court location and trading post. The guesthouse place stems from the second half of the 17th century, and in the previous century Bolstadøyri was one of the largest rural trading posts in Nordhordland.
The guesthouse standing at Bolstadøyri today is from the 1830s, a symmetrical building in the Empire style with hipped roof. The oldest part is supposed to be from 1663. At the end of the 1600 Nils P.Hjermand settled here as guesthouse keeper. He was a citizen of Bergen, but did not have a royal licence. In 1702 Henrik Weinwick was granted a licence to operate as guesthouse keeper both at Vossevangen and at Bolstadøyri. The old courthouse is situated close to the guesthouse.
Both vesser and vassvøringer met at Øyri when heading out for town. History tells us that they formed “town parties” or “boat parties” and hired an Ostra ship or a Voss ship. This they loaded with butter and cheese and other goods. With favourable weather such a party could row to Bergen in 2 to 3 days, with contrary wind the trip could take up to a week.
At the fjord at Bolstadøyri the old post quay is still in existence; now being restored, and plans are afoot to rebuild a small sea house that was nearby, in order to renew the tradition of sea travel to and from the Voss communities.