Høvåg: Bronze Age, museums and local history

If you’re looking for hotels for a stay in Høvåg, the area’s history offers different starting points for planning your trip: Bronze Age reconstructions, historic buildings, traditional crafts and routes through the area. You can start by exploring the topics that interest you most.

The Bronze Age, the Viking Age and historic buildings

Bronseplassen is in Høvåg, in the municipality of Lillesand, and is Norway’s oldest reconstructed Bronze Age farm. The site was completed in 1994. Its reconstruction centres on a Bronze Age farm. A separate Viking Age section adds replicas based on finds from the Oseberg burial mound, including a large Viking tent, a large dragon bed and several everyday objects from the Viking Age. The two areas have different focuses: the reconstructed farm and replicas of specific finds.

The Vesterhus Museum combines an exhibition with the building that houses it: a house of the “Mandalsstue” type. Its timber dates from the late 18th century. Carvings indicate that it was built in 1803 by Poul Osmundsen Vesterhus. The permanent exhibition includes furniture and objects from the area. The museum is open on weekends in summer; visits at other times are possible by appointment. Check the seasonal opening dates before travelling, and arrange visits outside weekend hours in advance.

Crafts and local history

The water-powered Kornbrekke sawmill represents another side of local history. It was in regular operation until the end of the 1950s. After standing idle for a few years, it was made operational again in 2023 following minor repairs. This distinguishes its earlier regular use from the later, dated restoration of its working condition.

The Gamle-Hellesund School served as a local school from 1876 to 1958 and is considered the best-preserved of Høvåg’s former village schools. Every summer, the Høvåg museum and historical society holds a summer festival there for local residents and summer visitors. The event is an annual tradition; individual programme details may vary.

The Høvåg cultural heritage trail also connects several historic sites: it runs from the old harbour at Ågerøya through Høvåg to Bronseplassen, near the border with Kristiansand and Vest-Agder. The route described therefore extends beyond a single place. At Kassenkanalen, the focus is on the waterway: the 200-metre passage allows boats to travel from Blindleia via the Kvanneidfjord into Kjerkekilen.

A memorial at Høvåg Church commemorates the writer Gabriel Scott, who grew up in the Høvåg vicarage. Together with the former school and the sawmill, it offers further perspectives on local history, distinct from the reconstructions at Bronseplassen.

More places to visit in Lillesand

Lillesand itself also offers its own cultural and historical points of interest. The Lillesand by- og sjøfartsmuseum is located in the former Carl-Knudsen-Gården, Nygårdsgt. 1, in the centre of Lillesand. Blindleia offers a different perspective on the coastal region: this 20-kilometre inner coastal route runs from Lillesand towards Kristiansand. You can explore it by excursion boat, charter boat or private boat.

In summer, the M/S Øya follows a scheduled route through Blindleia between Lillesand and Kristiansand. Check current sailing dates before you travel. Scheduled sailings, charter boats and private boats are different ways to experience Blindleia; which option suits your plans depends on what kind of experience you prefer for this part of your trip.

Discover more destinations: Brekkestø, Lillesand.

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