Elvarheim Museum

About the museum

Elvarheim museum is housed in the old community hall from 1925 by the Nidelva river in the centre of Åmli. The museum opened in 1991 and is owned by Åmli municipality, while Aust-Agder museum and archive holds the professional responsibility in cooperation with a local museum manager and a museum board.

The core of the collection is the hunter Aslak Harstveit's collection of stuffed animals, hunting equipment and over 200 knives. The exhibitions show wild animals of the local fauna, including wolf, wolverine and lynx, and one room is dedicated to the bear hunter Olav Tverrstøyl, who helped to shoot nearly 100 bears in Agder and Telemark in the second half of the 19th century.

Åmli is called the beaver municipality. At the end of the 19th century the beaver population in the country had fallen to fewer than 100 animals, around Åmli, and today a large part of Europe's beavers come from here. This is the theme of the exhibition in the basement. The museum also shows birds with bird calls, berry picking as a source of income, the fiddle maker Sveinung Gjøvlands's workshop and the costume tradition in Åmli. Tourist information for Åmli is available at the museum in season.

Highlights

• Stuffed predators: bear, wolf, wolverine and lynx
• The beaver exhibition “Det vesle folket” (The Little Folk) in the basement
• The hunter Aslak Harstveit's collection with over 200 knives
• Bird room with bird calls and a room for nocturnal animals
• The exhibition “Mangfald og mote” (Diversity and Fashion) on costume customs in Åmli
• Tourist information for Åmli at the museum

Permanent exhibitions

• Fangstmannen Aslak Harstveit – The collection of stuffed animals, hunting equipment and over 200 knives, with the predators wolf, wolverine and lynx, a room for nocturnal animals and a bird room with bird calls.
• Det vesle folket – Exhibition in the basement on the beaver's life above and below water, and on why Åmli became the starting point for the spread of the beaver.
• Mangfald og mote – Exhibition on costume customs in Åmli from the 18th to the 20th centuries, from the oldest surviving folk costumes to bunad and dress fashion.

Founded

1991

Operated by

Åmli kommune (faglig ansvar: Aust-Agder museum og arkiv)

Admission & discounts

The museum does not accept cash, only Vipps and card.

Accessibility

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops
• Activity booklet, scavenger hunt or kids’ audio guide
• Hands-on stations

The beaver exhibition in the basement is especially suited to children, with a display case you can crawl into, animals you can pet and a beaver lodge you can smell. The bird calls and the wild animals are popular with children of all ages. Educational programmes for schools and kindergartens can be downloaded.

Getting there & parking

The museum is in the old community hall by the Nidelva river in the centre of Åmli.

Amenities & dining

• Museum shop

Museum shop with local village books, maps and a hiking guide for Åmli. Payment by Vipps and card.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit