Holvikejekta was built in 1881 at Krånafjøra in Sandane, and is the only preserved original clinker-built jekt in Norway. A jekt is a wide single-masted, square-rigged, open sailing vessel. It has a tall stem, no permanent decking, and a flat stern, often with a small windowed aft compartment.
The jekts were responsible for carrying goods between rural communities and Bergen for hundreds of years, before being made obsolete by motorised boats around 1900. Most of them were either rebuilt or dismantled.
Saved by history society and municipality
Thankfully, the history society in Nordfjord bought the jekt in 1909, with the aim of preserving it for future generations. They worked towards establishing a new museum, and the jekt became the first object in its collection.
The land where the boathouse stood in 1910 was partitioned from the Austrheim farm, allowing the Gloppen municipality to procure it. As it is written in the museum’s protocols: “These two plots of land shall be gifted the museum, granting them complete rights of use”.
The process of securing a new exhibition building has taken some time. A plan was developed in 2013, and the Gloppen municipality applied for funding from the Ministry of Culture in 2016 and 2017.
The museum
In 2018, the Museums in Sogn og Fjordane took over the project, in collaboration with the municipality and Arts Council Norway. From 2018 to 2020, the museum worked on quality assurance through condition and initiative reports, a project presentation and technical reports.
Construction is projected to cost 30 million NOK, and a three-party financing plan between the state, county and municipality has been agreed to. In 2021, the project was fully funded.
The Gloppen municipality has confirmed that “the land around the jekt has been secured in terms of incorporating the area into the museum plans”