Esbensengården
Merchant's farmhouse from 1848–49 at Sletten in Vadsø, Finnmark's only surviving patrician house, open as a museum in summer.
Have only individual sections read aloud
About the museum
Esbensengården lies at Sletten in Ytrebyen in Vadsø, formerly called Ytre kvenby (Outer Kven town). The merchant Rasmus Galberg Esbensen and his wife Mathilde Henriette Brammer built the main house in 1848–49. The house is built of Siberian larch logs. Esbensen traded in fish and grocery goods and took part in the Pomor trade (pomorhandelen). The property originally included a quay with four large storehouses (pakkhus), a shop, a reindeer fence (reingjerde) to the west and a garden with a summer pavilion (lysthus) to the north.
The son, Hans Fredrik Esbensen, took over around 1870, expanded the main house and built an outbuilding inside a plank fence. The shop at Sletten burned down in 1917, and the quay and the storehouses were destroyed during the Second World War. After the war parts of the property were rented out to an old people's home and a boarding house. The third generation, Carl Brammer Esbensen, lived there until 1977.
Vadsø municipality bought the property in 1976. It was restored and opened as a museum in the early 1980s. Today the farm is run by Vadsø museum – Ruija kvenmuseum under Varanger museum. It is regarded as the only surviving complex of its type in Finnmark that was not destroyed in the war.
Highlights
- Merchant's farmhouse from 1848–49 in Siberian larch logs
- The only surviving complex of its type in Finnmark from before the war
- Farmyard with plank fence and outbuilding
- Protected since 1990
- Guides on site in the summer season
- Operated by
- Varanger museum IKS (Vadsø museum – Ruija kvenmuseum)
Admission & discounts
| Adults | NOK 120 |
|---|---|
| Reduced | NOK 100Students, concessions (honnør) and conscripts |
| Children & teens | freefree up to age 15 · Children under 16 enter free. |
| Students & apprentices | NOK 100 |
| Groups (11+ people) | NOK 100 per personPer person for groups of more than 10 people. |
Indicative prices for Varanger museum. Guided tours for groups are booked and priced per started hour.
Accessibility
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Kids & families
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Getting there & parking
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Amenities & dining
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Events & venue rental
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Plan your visit
| Guided tours | yes |
|---|---|
| Good to know | The guides are based at Esbensengården in the summer season. Groups can book a guided tour (max. 30 people per guide). |
