Ask: Cultural Centre and Pilgrimage History

Ask can be explored for travel planning through specific landmarks. Gjerdrum kulturhus is centrally located in the village, about 100 metres from Ask terminal bus station. Fylkesvei 120 also passes through Ask, running between Moss, Lillestrøm, and Hurdal. The cultural centre and the road offer different ways to find your bearings: a point in the village and a connection between the named places.

Cultural Centre and Finding Your Way Around Ask

Gjerdrum kulturhus has two halls for concerts and performances. Høyenhall is an amphitheatre with 190 seats; Solheimstua is a club stage with room for about 80 people. Høyenhall therefore has more than twice as many seats as Solheimstua. The differences in size and stage format help distinguish the two event spaces.

The cultural centre is open when activities and performances are taking place there. If you are planning a visit, arrange it around a specific event or activity and check the date in advance. Services are also held at Misjonshuset in Ask. If attending a service is important during your stay, check the date in advance.

There is public parking at the cultural centre. Accessible parking spaces are located by Frivilligsentralen; vehicles displaying a disabled parking permit may also park in a suitable space by the main entrance. This describes two parking options and may be helpful when planning a visit to the cultural centre.

Pilgrimage Hike: A Historical Connection to Ask

A pilgrimage hike began in Ask on 9 August and ended in Spitalen in Stange on Friday, 13 August. The stages were organised as daily walks of 10 to 20 kilometres. The route described began in front of the church office in Ask, continued to Nystulia, crossed the golf course and the Fladbybekken, and climbed to Høyenhall. It then went down Asmyrgata to Hval and back up to Ask. The historic hike thus includes both a starting point and a destination, as well as a sequence of named stops and multi-day stages.

Nature and History in the Wider Destination of Gjerdrum

In the wider destination of Gjerdrum, Prekestolen is the highest point, at 410.6 metres above sea level. The climb is about three kilometres long and runs partly along a gravel road and partly along a trail. In Prekestolen Nature Reserve, 556 dekar of old spruce forest in the municipalities of Gjerdrum and Nittedal are protected. Torshov Nature Reserve also protects an old, deadwood-rich spruce forest growing on marine clay.

These nature features sit alongside Gjerdrum’s extensive mining history. Dalsgruva is located at Gruvbakken, where iron ore was mined intermittently from the early 17th century until 1820. From 1811 to 1820, Konsta mechanically transmitted power from Myrgruvefossen to Dalsgruva. The climb to Prekestolen is about three kilometres long; the daily stages of the pilgrimage hike were 10 to 20 kilometres. This comparison shows the different distances involved without equating the hikes.

The distinction is useful when choosing a location: the cultural centre, Misjonshuset, and the beginning of the pilgrimage hike are associated with Ask. Prekestolen, the nature reserves, and Dalsgruva are presented here as features of the wider destination of Gjerdrum.

Discover more destinations: Sørum.

Go to the wider travel overview: Gjerdrum.