Lyngheisenteret

About the museum

Lyngheisenteret lies on Ytre Lygra in Alver municipality and opened in 2000 as a museum and national knowledge centre for coastal heathland (kystlynghei). It grew out of the “Lindås project” (Lindås-prosjektet), an interdisciplinary research project at the University of Bergen in the 1970s. It showed that the coastal heaths are a cultural landscape that has been shaped by human management for more than 4,000 years.

The centre was built up between 1990 and 2000 in close cooperation with the landowners on Ytre Lygra, Hordaland County Council, the University of Bergen and Lindås municipality. The Lyngheisenteret Foundation was established in 1999, and in 2007 the centre was consolidated with Museumssenteret i Hordaland (MUHO).

The landscape is managed as traditionally as possible, with heather burning, grazing by gammelnorsk sau (old Norwegian sheep) and mowing. On the island there are many Iron Age remains, including charcoal pits and burial mounds, and Lygra lies beside the old inner shipping lane between Bergen and Sogn. Visitors can walk the marked trails, see the exhibition and films in the information building, and visit Magnusgarden, which the centre owns itself.

Highlights

• Exhibition and films on heather burning and the cultural landscape of the coastal heath
• Nature trail and walking paths through the protected heaths of Ytre Lygra
• The café Matstova with homemade and local food
• Magnusgarden, the centre’s own farm on Ytre Lygra
• Location on Lurefjorden with its own quay for express boats from Bergen

Permanent exhibitions

• Det stig av hav – Permanent exhibition in the basement on the coastal heaths, climate change and biological diversity.
• Naturløype – Outdoor trail through the heaths and cultural landscape of Ytre Lygra.

Founded

2000

Operated by

Museumssenteret i Hordaland (MUHO)

Admission & discounts

Admission to the grounds and the information building is free. The film and exhibition cost NOK 110 (students NOK 80). Guided tours have their own prices.

Accessibility

• Partially wheelchair accessible
• Elevator
• Accessible restroom
• Accessible parking
• Service dogs welcome
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

The information building has step-free access, a lift between floors and an accessible toilet with a changing table. Disabled parking is not signposted but can be used after notifying staff. The main entrance has no automatic door opener. Induction loop in the auditorium. The film about Mandus and Klara has only voice-over commentary and no subtitles. Most of the trails are gravel and can be used with a pushchair or a sturdy wheelchair, but the path from the quay is steep and uneven.

Kids & families

• Stroller-friendly
• Baby changing facilities

Changing table in the accessible toilet. Most gravel paths can be used with a pushchair.

Getting there & parking

By car it takes about 30 minutes from Knarvik and 55 minutes from central Bergen (E39 north, then Rv 57 towards Seim). From the quay it is about a 15-minute walk to the centre.

Amenities & dining

• Café
• Museum shop

The café Matstova serves homemade and locally produced food: on weekdays soup, waffles, coffee and tea, and on Sundays an extended menu. Museum shop in the information building.

Events & venue rental

• Spaces for rent
• Private parties
• Corporate events

Up to 80 guests.

The meeting room (30 people), the auditorium (70) and Matstova (70–80) can be rented for meetings, courses, conferences and company events. Overnight stays in historic houses on Lygra are also possible.

Plan your visit