Veines (Kongsfjord guesthouse)
Description
9982 Kongsfjord
The hamlet of Veines is situated in Kongsfjord in the municipality of Berlevåg, 30 km from the fishing village of Berlevåg itself, on the furthest point of the Varanger peninsula in Finnmark. Veines was the westernmost building development to escape being burnt down by the Germans during the Second World War, so there are houses dating from the end of the nineteenth and well into the twentieth century. These were all built by one large family: Johan Peder Olsen and, in due course, by his many sons.
At the water's edge lies the warehouse with its quay and seasonal worker's shed. Up the hill and with their façades facing south towards the sea there is a row of houses, all one and a half or two storeys high. Behind the houses lie outhouses such as the cowshed and so on. Everything is built of wood that was brought here by sea - either from the east and Russia, or from the south in Norway.
Johan Peder Olsen and his wife Britta Kaisa built up the business activity in Veines. In its heyday, during the first half of the twentieth century, there was fish wholesalers, dried and salted fish production, a telegraph facility, a general store, guesthouse, steamship office and a postal service. Britta Kaisa acted as the area midwife and delivered over 100 babies. Today the fish-based business is gone, but some of the houses have been restored and are in use as part of the Kongsfjord guesthouse. The guesthouse occupies the warehouse and adjacent quay, the seasonal worker's shed, the main house, dower-house and two cowsheds. Åse Winsnes, a descendant of Johan and Britta who built up this place at the end of the nineteenth century, is in charge of the business.
At the water's edge lies the warehouse with its quay and seasonal worker's shed. Up the hill and with their façades facing south towards the sea there is a row of houses, all one and a half or two storeys high. Behind the houses lie outhouses such as the cowshed and so on. Everything is built of wood that was brought here by sea - either from the east and Russia, or from the south in Norway.
Johan Peder Olsen and his wife Britta Kaisa built up the business activity in Veines. In its heyday, during the first half of the twentieth century, there was fish wholesalers, dried and salted fish production, a telegraph facility, a general store, guesthouse, steamship office and a postal service. Britta Kaisa acted as the area midwife and delivered over 100 babies. Today the fish-based business is gone, but some of the houses have been restored and are in use as part of the Kongsfjord guesthouse. The guesthouse occupies the warehouse and adjacent quay, the seasonal worker's shed, the main house, dower-house and two cowsheds. Åse Winsnes, a descendant of Johan and Britta who built up this place at the end of the nineteenth century, is in charge of the business.
Year of construction
The end of the nineteenth century to 1940
Client
Johan Peder Olsen and sons
Building Type
Farm site
Construction System / Materials
Wood
stone
Prizes / Recognition
County Municipality Environment and Place Development Prize 2007
Map
