Discover Skollenborg

Key themes in Skollenborg include historic churches, the museums in Labro and the Labrofossen waterfall. Together, they offer different perspectives: from medieval architectural forms and later furnishings to archaeological traces and a landmark story shaped by art. If you are considering which aspects interest you most, churches, museum topics and landscape history each offer a distinct way in.

Museums and cultural history in Labro

The Labromuseene consist of the Norsk Vassdragsmuseum, the Numedalslågens Fløtningsmuseum and the Norsk Vegmuseum Labro. The name therefore refers to three named institutions. The Vassdragsmuseum is a specialist museum whose main subject is the economic and cultural history along the Numedalsvassdraget. Visitors interested in this history will find a clearly defined thematic focus here.

The focus of the Vassdragsmuseum differs from the church profiles in Skollenborg: it draws attention to the economic and cultural history along a watercourse. When considering the Labromuseene, it is therefore worth distinguishing the group as a whole from this particular focus. This makes it clear that the name covers several museums, while the Vassdragsmuseum has its own main subject.

Two historic long churches

Hedenstad kirke is located in Skollenborg, in the municipality of Kongsberg in Buskerud. The stone long church dates from between 1100 and 1200 and has 170 seats. The church also contains an old altarpiece dating from 1697. The construction period and the date of the altarpiece mark different historical layers: the church building is medieval, while the surviving altarpiece comes from a later century.

It is believed that a stave church previously stood on the same site as Hedenstad kirke. This possible history concerns the location of Hedenstad kirke. It should be distinguished from the reuse of furnishings at Efteløt kirke: there, some of the furnishings came from the former stave church in Komnes.

Efteløt kirke is a Romanesque long church dating from around 1184. Its natural-stone walls are up to one metre thick. The furnishings transferred from the former stave church in Komnes include the altarpiece, baptismal font, bell frame and pulpit. A wall painting dating from 1697 was also uncovered in the apse behind the altarpiece. Both churches therefore have a connection to an altarpiece from that year; at Efteløt, a wall painting behind it is also mentioned. The differences between the two churches can be seen in specific details: at Hedenstad, in its construction period and surviving altarpiece; at Efteløt, in its Romanesque architecture, substantial natural-stone walls and several furnishings connected with Komnes.

Labro’s landscape and history

The surroundings of Labro also bear traces of different periods. Burial mounds in the area indicate that people had lived there since the Bronze Age. Labrofossen, in turn, became a national romantic landmark after Thomas Fearnley painted the waterfall in 1837. The reference to the painting explains the waterfall’s historical significance without reducing the history of the landscape to a single structure.

Art exhibitions at Galleri Labro add an offering for visitors to these themes. While the Vassdragsmuseum focuses on the economic and cultural history along the Numedalsvassdraget, art exhibitions are at the heart of the gallery. Skollenborg thus offers different cultural points of interest: church architecture and furnishings, the history of the museums in Labro, archaeological evidence from the Bronze Age, and the connection between Labrofossen and Fearnley’s painting.

Discover more destinations: Hvittingfoss, Kongsberg, Passebekk.

Back to the main travel overview: Kongsberg.