Hesthamar skrivargard

In 1637, just under 50 years after the office of district magistrate (sorenskrivar) was established in Norway, the villagers of inner Hardanger bought the farm Hesthamar from local bailiff Laurits Galte at Torsnes. The farm subsequently became the seat of the district magistrate in Hardanger – later also covering Voss – until 1848. From 1849 the farm was divided into two. In 1923, the 200-year-old main house was declared a cultural monument, and is today considered one of our best-preserved houses from the 18th century. The house is stylistically rather eclectic – mostly rococo, but also containing some baroque and renaissance features.

A new house in 1723, and renovations around 1750
The farmhouse was not in particularly good condition in the 1600s, and the local magistrate demanded a new main house be built. This demand was not initially met with goodwill, but after a fire in 1664, the villagers proved more willing to help rebuild the house. The reason for their unwillingness before the fire was that the villagers were already charged an annual tax called the skrivartoll, or magistrate’s fee.

In 1723, when Jens Fabricius settled on the farm, a new main house was built, and this is the basis of the one you see today. Around 1750, the house was renovated and extended to its current design by the next magistrate, Johan Sechmann Fleischer. The last official who lived at Hesthamar was acting magistrate Jens Skagen, and by this time Hesthamar had been the headquarters for magistrates for about 200 years, although not all of them had actually resided on the farm.

Residence for the district Doctor
After the magistrates ceased to reside here, the house had different owners. The first of these was the Hardanger district doctor, Gerhard Brock, who lived in the house for several years. Alongside several others, including magistrate Jens Skagen, Brock was also instrumental in setting up the Kinsarvik Sparebank (Kinsarvik savings bank) in 1846.

A shelter for the poor
In the period from 1888 until 1956, the main house at Hesthamar was used as an almshouse. In order to make room for the approximately 40 dwellers, several other houses on the farm were also bought. The farm and the house were then owned by Kinsarvik Sparebank, but ownership was later transferred to the county.

Hardanger Agricultural and Fruit Growing School
The Hardanger Agricultural and Fruit Growing School was established at Hesthamar in 1938, and existed until 1957. During this period several new houses were built, including a boarding school and livestock barns. The school never used the magistrate's house, as it was still being used as a poorhouse. After the school was closed, the county leased the farm from 1960. In 2003, the farm was sold to the leaseholder, who had been residing there since 1969. The main house was not included in the sale.

Philosopher Arid Haaland
The main house remained unoccupied until 1974, when mayor of Ullensvang, Torolv Hesthamar, handed it over –  with storage house, boathouse and plot of land – to the well-known Bergen philosopher Arild Haaland. This was on the condition that Haaland restore and maintain the house, which was verging on dilapidation at the time. Haaland was given a 20-year lease, provided he returned the house to the county after the end of the period. The fact that Arild Haaland took care of the house at the time undoubtedly helped to save it.

Friends of the Magistrate's House and the Hesthamar Foundation
The county again took over the house with all its furnishings after Arild Haaland’s departure in 2005. The house then remained more or less empty until the voluntary group Friends of the Magistrate's House was established in 2013, followed by the Hesthamar Foundation in 2015. The county had asked the Hardanger Folk Museum to restore windows and wooden sidings on parts of the house, but the rest of the house still bore the marks of decay.

Now the house has been restored and brought back to the way it was in the 1700s, through its colours, wallpaper and new floors. The property also has a boathouse (naust), a storage house (stabbur) and a new outhouse with a kitchen. In addition, an outdoor stage has been built on the premises.