Havrå

Havrå Havre
Farm
View of the farm area, Havretunet
Havrå Location in Hordaland county
Coordinates: 60°26′22″N 05°34′31″E / 60.43944°N 5.57528°E / 60.43944; 5.57528Coordinates: 60°26′22″N 05°34′31″E / 60.43944°N 5.57528°E / 60.43944; 5.57528
Country	Norway
Region	Western Norway
County	Hordaland
District	Nordhordland
Municipality	Osterøy
Elevation^[1]	71 m (233 ft)
Time zone	CET (UTC+01:00)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+02:00)

Havrå or Havre (sometimes Havretunet or Havråtunet) is a cluster of farms along the southern shore of the island of Osterøy in Osterøy municipality, Hordaland county, Norway. Havrå is one of the very last and best preserved of the common farm clusters on the western coast of Norway. Havrå was the first cultural environment to be protected under section 20 of the Norwegian Cultural Heritage Act. It was not connected to the national road network until late in the 1960s.

Havrå is situated on very steep terrain on the south side of the island of Osterøy, along the Sørfjorden. The farm area is shaped in a typical fashion for the steep terrain along the Western Norwegian fjords. It can be clearly seen from both the railway (Bergensbanen) and the highway that goes between the cities of Bergen and Oslo.

Map indicating Havrå

Many of the buildings at Havrå are characteristic to the inner coastal district between Bergen and the Sognefjorden; the combination of dry masonry and juniper cladding on barn façades that are exposed to rain and wind.

Name

The name, with various spellings, dates back as far as 1303. In the oldest sources the name is written Havra (possibly representing Havrá). From the 16th century the name was often spelled (with many variations) Havre.^[2]

In 1949-1950, a film called Havretunet was made about life at Havrå. It was released in 1952. Some of the people taking part in the film worked to change the name from Havre to Havrå. This changing of name was accepted by the National Map Service, but the name change remains controversial among the local population.^[3]^[4]

Media gallery

View looking south towards the mainland
Havretunet between the houses
Havretunet between the houses
A demanding technique, but the cladding lasts for 30–50 years
water mill
The mills are near the houses
Havretunet from across Sørfjord, near Romslo
The grain is poured into the tract and the flavour is gathered on the desktop surrounding millstones and is wiped down to a bin in the front of the table
Weather exposed barn walls clad with juniper. Juniper keeps the lashing rain out, permits draft and keeps the hay dry.
View of the traditional fencing
Mill houses
Main path through the farm area