Vegårshei Bygdetun

Local heritage museum with Julius Grasåsen's collections in eight buildings, including a shoemaker's workshop, a timber workshop, a schoolroom and a railway and forestry exhibition.

Opening hours unknown

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About the museum

Vegårshei Bygdetun lies idyllically between Vegårshei and Risør by the national road 416, about 800 metres from the road. The museum was privately owned by Julius Grasåsen (1897–1986), a farmer and smallholder who collected things that most others regarded as scrap. He wanted to preserve a time that was about to disappear, and in 1984 the farmstead was turned into a foundation.

The collection is today spread across eight buildings. Among them are a horse-powered treadmill (hestevandring) with horse equipment, a shoemaker's workshop, a timber workshop and a railway and forestry exhibition. A schoolroom and a husmannsstue (cotter's cottage) tell about life in the 1800s. The first building Julius erected was the almuestaua (community hall) from around 1840, which previously stood by Vegårshei church and was re-erected in 1982.

Julius Grasåsen wanted a living museum, and in the season there is a great deal of activity on the farmstead, including theme days, old-fashioned threshing and visits from kindergartens and school classes.

Highlights

Julius Grasåsen's collections in eight buildings
Almuestaua from around 1840
Shoemaker's and timber workshops
Railway and forestry exhibition
Theme days with, among other things, old-fashioned threshing