Fyresdal: Cultural History, Hamaren and Fyresvatn

Fyresdal’s town centre is home to historic buildings and a cultural heritage trail; Hamaren Activity Park and nearby Fyresvatn add outdoor activities to the mix. When planning your trip, you can organise the sights according to your interests and how much time you have: from a walk around Folkestadbyen to the roughly one-and-a-half-hour trail in Hamaren. Other destinations in Fyresdal municipality are separate from these.

Cultural history in the town centre

Fyresdal Bygdemuseum comprises a total of 14 historic buildings from the Middle Ages and later periods. A treasure hunt for children may be offered seasonally. Folkestadbyen is a well-preserved architectural ensemble with many Swiss-style houses, which you can explore on a walk around the town. The town centre also has local shops, guesthouses, cafés, a bank and a community hall. Individual businesses and services may change.

Øyskogen Museum Park contains four pagan burial mounds. The Moland cultural heritage trail starts at the museum there, in the centre of Fyresdal. It is suitable for families with children and older people; most of the trail is wheelchair accessible. This lets you combine the townscape, museum and a walk with cultural history, without assuming that the entire route is wheelchair accessible.

Hamaren and experiences at Fyresvatn

Hamaren Activity Park in Fyresdal features Norway’s first treetop walkway, a treetop trampoline, a climbing course, cycle paths, picnic areas and swimming spots. The accessible circular route, including the treetop walkway, is about 3.5 kilometres long and takes approximately 1.5 hours. At 343 metres above sea level, Klokkarhamaren is the highest point on the route. From there, you can look out over Fyresvatn, Norway’s sixth-deepest lake.

Bryggeparken, by Fyresdal’s central landing stage, has a business park, a café, a beach, barbecue areas, a beach volleyball court and a water trampoline. Individual facilities may change; before your visit, check which services are important for your plans. Nearby, at the northern end of Fyresvatn, is Stykkjevika: its 700-metre gently sloping beach is suitable for children and adults. If you rent a canoe, you can paddle to one of the small islands in Fyresvatn; check locally whether canoes are available.

Other destinations in Fyresdal municipality

Fyresdal municipality also offers cultural and scenic destinations outside the town centre. The Moisesberg mining area in Fjellgardane was established between 1541 and 1549; it is considered exceptional in the context of European mining. The Moisesberg cultural heritage trail is an approximately three-kilometre out-and-back route through the area. A church service is held annually in the Trollholene caves in Kilegrend.

The municipality has cross-country skiing trails of varying lengths. The Skålid and Øyuvsvatn area in Fjellgardane has a short loop of about eight kilometres and a longer one of about 20 kilometres; the trails are groomed by snowmobile, depending on snow and weather conditions. The Veum ski trail is about 12 kilometres north of Fyresdal town centre. It is four kilometres long and has four alternative loops; it also serves as a training base for the biathlon club and has its own biathlon arena. Grooming and lighting depend on winter conditions.

Discover more destinations: Hauggrend.

Back to the main travel overview: Fyresdal.