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About us

Osterøy Museum is beautifully located at Gjerstad, in the middle of Osterøy. The island is the largest inland island in Northern Europe and is located just 30 minutes from Bergen by car. Here, old, and newer houses are gathered in an exciting open-air museum that illustrates the way of life in the villages north of Bergen.

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We connect tangible and intangible heritage: the objects and the craft techniques associated with them. Osterøy museum specialises in textile and clothing history, weaving and local building customs, as well as local history from Osterøy and Nordhordland.

Living craft traditions

We gather artisans and textile enthusiasts from all over Norway, and internationally, in a network around the warp-weighted loom. The tradition is kept alive and renewed through active collaboration with researchers, artists, and designers.

Read more about the loom and the textile history surrounding it, in the book  Klingande steinar - The Warp-Weighted Loom, available in our online shop.

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Country life

The buildings and collections at Osterøy museum show building customs, traditions, and people’s way of life on the islands surrounding Bergen. A wealth of objects, photos and archives from local organisations and businesses form the basis of our knowledge about past generations. Large parts of the collections are available by arrangement to interested researchers, writers, and genealogists.

Osterøy museum was established in 1920, and for a long time it was run by volunteers in the local community. The museum still has strong local connections, and works closely with organisations as well as an active group of volunteers.

Here you can learn more about:

•    textile and clothing history
•    weaving on the warp-weighted loom
•    building traditions and crafts
•    small-scale industry


Department head: Solveig Jordal

Museum24:Portal - 2024.03.19
Grunnstilsett-versjon: 1