The National Heritage Board protects the wood grinding plant at Kistefos in Jevnaker, an important and valuable industrial facility in Norwegian history.
- Kistefos Træsliberi is an important representative of the Norwegian wood processing industry from the late 1800s. Production here helped to build our country. It is a key part of the history of Norway that is being preserved today," says Andreas Bjelland Eriksen (Ap), Minister of Climate and Environment.
Kistefos Træsliberi was established in 1889 and was in operation until 1955. The mill is beautifully situated on a peninsula in Randselva, in Jevnaker municipality in Akershus county.
Industrial history buzz
Kistefos Museum was established in 1996, with Kistefos Træsliberi as an industrial museum. The museum also includes a sculpture park and an art gallery.
- "Kistefos is the best preserved wood grinding mill in Scandinavia," says Hanna Geiran, National Heritage Officer.
The facility has received financial support from the National Heritage Board since 2002.
- "The preservation will safeguard the traces and values in the middle of a magnificent area. Here, visitors can experience machinery and wood processing, as well as art and a sense of industrial history," says Geiran.
The factory was originally located by the river and waterfall. This made it possible to supply power, transport raw materials and produce wood pulp.
The facility is preserved with outdoor areas, gardens, buildings and various structures from the entire period between 1889 and 1955.
Spruce and pine paper
Towards the end of the 19th century, Norway became the world's leading pulp producer. Our country had favorable conditions with large forests, rivers to float timber and many waterfalls.
The production of pulp, cellulose and paper based on spruce and pine was a mainstay of the Norwegian economy for hundreds of years. In 1900, wood processing accounted for around a quarter of all Norwegian goods exports.
The purpose of the protection is to secure and preserve Kistefos Træsliberi as a representative of the mechanical wood processing industry from the 19th century and into the 20th century.
The preservation is intended to safeguard the wood grinding plant as a holistic industrial environment, and it also includes three areas around the plant.
The new museum building The Twist is located outside the conservation area. This is where the walkways in the sculpture park that surrounds the river today lead.
