Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Norwegian dishes, such as lamb, baked salmon and wild deer, and there's a waffle cafe (
9am-6pm May-Sep) downstairs.
Kinsarvik & Lofthus
POP 3382
The picturesque town of Kinsarvik and nearby Lofthus rest peacefully on the shore of Sør-
fjorden, an offshoot of Hardangerfjord in the heart of a region known as Ullensvang; there
areanestimated halfamillionfruittreesinUllensvang.Kinsarvikwasn'talwayssopeace-
ful - it was the site of a settlement of up to 300 Vikings from the 8th to 11th centuries.
Sights & Activities
KINSARVIK
The small U-shaped patch of greenery opposite the Kinsarvik tourist office is all that re-
mains of the former Viking port . Kinsarvik also boasts one of Norway's oldest stone
churches (admission free; 10am-7pm late May-mid-Aug) . First built in around
1180,itwasrestoredinthe1960sandthewallsstillbeartracesoflime-and-chalkpaintings
that depict the weighing of souls by Michael the Archangel with the devil trying to weigh
down the scales. According to local legend, the church was built by Scottish invaders on
the site of an earlier stave church.
Kinsarvik also offers an appealing access trail past the four cooling Husedalen wa-
terfalls , along what's known as the Monk's Stairway , and onto the network of tracks
through the wild forest of Hardangervidda National Park ( Click here ).
For children, the Familieparken Hardangertun ( www.hardangertun.no , in Norwegi-
an; day pass Nkr150; 10.30am-6.30pm daily late Jun-mid-Aug, 10.30am-6.30pm
Sat & Sun mid-May-late Jun & mid-Aug-Sep) has water slides, minigolf and farm an-
imals.
LOFTHUS
The main attraction in Lofthus is Grieg's Hut ( 24hr yr-round) , the one-time retreat
ofNorwegian composer EdvardGrieg.It'sinthegardenofHotel Ullensvang. Lofthusalso
has a stone church (admission free; 10am-7pm late May-mid-Aug) dating back to
1250 (the tower was added in the 1880s) with fine stained-glass windows; it's surrounded
by a cemetery with some graves from the Middle Ages.
Search WWH ::




Custom Search