Dalen farm
Provided by:
Kristiansund kommune
The farm has an exciting history dating back to the 18th century and is protected by decision of the The Directorate for Cultural Heritage. The volountary association "Friends of Dalen Gård" has an operating agreement with owner Kristiansund municipality, and has put a lot of effort into the care and maintenance of the building stock. In this section you can learn about the history of the farm and the individual buildings on the farm.
To find more content and listen to free audio guides, download the Voice of Norway app.
Points of interest
#1
Dalen farm - main building
At Dalen farm there are currently six buildings that were built at different times in the 18th and 19th centuries. The yard is designed as a row yard, and the large pleasure garden is at the end of the row, to the west. The main building was probably built in the 18th century and stood on Kirklandet until it was moved here at the beginning of the 19th century. The house is elongated and has two floors in addition to an attic. On the second floor of the main building, there is a room with a total of 17 very valuable wall paintings from the 18th century. The paintings show both profane and sacred motifs taken from religion, ethics, astronomy and art, with texts in Danish and English. The artist is unknown. The paintings are mounted as fillers in filler panels on all four walls. The house also contains several building parts from the old church in Kristiansund, which was demolished in 1883.
#2
The milk cellar
The milk cellar was built by Walter Miln around 1770. The cellar is made of natural stone masonry with a brick vault. To the east of the milk cellar itself, there is an open room which has been used, among other things, for drying clothes. A wooden floor has been built above the cellar and the drying area. There has been a rolling shed here. The wooden floor was probably built at the end of the 19th century.
#3
Dalen farm - the playroom
The playroom is a charming little house that was built at the end of the 19th century and is richly decorated with building details taken from the old Kristiansund church (1725-1883). The church was sold for demolition to three farmers, including Glærum on Dalen farm.
#4
Dalen fram - the barn
The barn, which in the oldest fire rates was referred to as a "cow house", was probably built at the end of the 18th century and was much smaller than today. In line with increased operation and activity, the barn has been extended several times.
#5
Dalen gård - The Manure House
"Frauhuset", The Manure House, has an exciting history. Before public waste disposal was put in order in Kristiansund, it was the city farmers who took care of emptying the outdoor waste bins and toilets in the city. The waste was stored in this house before it was later used as fertiliser. Frauhuset on Dalen was probably built at the end of the 19th century, but then with a clapboarded salt roof laid directly on the walls.
#6
Dalen gård - The Forge
For fire reasons, the forge is located farthest from the main building as the end of the terraced yard to the east. The age of the forge is uncertain as it is not described in the fire rate records before 1921. The ashlar and chimney were removed from the building shortly after the war.
#7
Dalen gård - The Garden
The garden is an important part of the farm. Remains of an avenue that led up to the yard from the southwest are visible. The other trees in the garden are mainly ash, linden and horse chestnut, probably planted in the 1870-1880s. We know that there was a herb garden here in the early 19th century, but no visible traces of flowers or other plants are found today.
#8
Dalen gård (Dalen Farm) - history
Dalen Gård is protected by decision of the The Directorate for Cultural Heritage and is currently owned by Kristiansund municipality. "Øvre Fosenvågen", which was the original name, was started as a quite simple farm in the 1780s by Walter Miln. In the early days, no one lived on the site, which then only consisted of a barn with a milk cellar and surrounding meadows. At one time, there were several such farms located around the town. In a time with little developed infrastructure between town and country, these farms played an important role as a food supply for the town's population. At the beginning of the 19th century, the farm came into the possession of the Knudtzon family. The whole place was then called Knudtzondalen, and the farm itself was named Dalen farm. In the years 1808-1810, new cultivation and ditching were carried out on the farm. In the same period, the house that Walter Miln had had in the town was moved and set up here. The farmhouse originally stood in a north-south direction, but became around 1870 turned 90 degrees for weather reasons. In 1846, Nicoaly Heinrich Knudtzon sold the farm to Hans Larsen Dahl for 4,000 riksdaler. By the standards of the time, Dalen was a fairly large farm with 17 dairy cows, 1 ox and 3 horses. In 1853, Dahl leased the farm to teacher and merchant Iver Hansen. Hansen started a restaurant with dance performances on the farm, which made Dalen a popular place to go on Sundays. However, this was not popular with provost Folkmann Schaanning. He complained to the bishop and in the same year Hansen was transferred to Røros as a teacher and bell ringer. Dahl had financial problems and sold the farm to Gregorius Aune from Surnadal in 1853. Two years later, fellow resident Jon Pedersen Glærum bought Dalen farm and moved to the city. In 1883, his son Peder took over the farm. He then ran it until 1921, when his son Jon Glærum became farmer. His son again, Per, was the last to run the place which was then in general called Glærumgården. In 1952, the municipality expropriated all cultivated land from the farm, in order to build the Atlanten stadium sports facility. Around 1970, Glærum ended farm operations after development in Folkeparken made further operation impossible. In 2004, the municipality expropriated the rest of the property. In 2013, the farm was declared protected by the Directorate for Cultural Heritage. It is quite unique that in the middle of a city there is a complete farm facility (loop farm) in the form of a row garden with a total of 6 buildings. In 2016, Dalen Gård Venneforening was founded. The Venneforeningen has an operating agreement with the municipality and has put a lot of effort into the care and maintenance of the building stock.