Sunnhordland Museum is a regional museum for eight municipalities in Sunnhordland; Austevoll, Bømlo, Etne, Fitjar, Kvinnherad, Stord, Sveio and Tysnes. The museum also owns a historic site in Ølen, Vindafjord.
The museum is responsible for documenting the region’s history through collection, preservation, research and dissemination. The museum shall promote interest in knowledge about the past and cultivate residents» and visitors» interest in regional history.
In addition to this, the museum also offers several advisory services for residents in the region: building conservation, collection management, dissemination and preservation.
Sunnhordland Museum manages 41 antiquarian buildings, a large collection, as well as photo and private archive collections. The museum works with many historical disciplines that extend from the Middle Ages at Halsnøy Monastery to the traditional fishing and farming culture and early industrialization in Sunnhordland.
Sunnhordland museum’s administration building is located in the center of Leirvik, the department is called Sunnhordlandstunet.
The museum also has several departments open to the public such as Halsnøy Monastery (Kvinnherad) and Sæbøtunet (Etne).
You can see documentation of various objects from our collection in the digital museum: Sunnhordland museum at DigitalMuseum.
Do you want to learn more og visit one of our sites? Please contact us.
Historic sites in Sunnhordland managed by the museum:
- Sunnhordlandstunet (Leirvik, Stord): The museum comprises ten buildings: including open hearth huts, several farmhouses, a schoolhouse, a country store and a fisherman’s house. The museum has permanent exhibitions featuring fishery, coastal industries and a local textiles exhibition. Sunnhordlandstunet also has several less permanent exhibitions that change regularly. See opening hours.
- Halsnøy abbey (Halsnøy, Kvinnherad): The Augustine abbey courtyard containes what remains of the Augustinian abbey built by Erling Skakke in 1164. After the reformation, the sheriff and the bailiff was seated here. The farmhouse was built in 1841, and a garden and jetty are also included. It is an arena for cultural events every year. See opening hours.
- Sæbøtunet (Etne): Courtyard with eight houses from 1700-1800. It is the biggest Authentic museum courtyard in our region. Open three days a week during summer. See opening hours.
Open upon request
- Nerheimstunet in Ølen (Vindafjord): Courtyard from the middle of the 19th century, the buildings are typical for Sunnhordland after the land redistribution (about 1835).
- Nistovetunet (Omvikedalen, Kvinnherad): Courtyard from 1800. The houses contain much of the origial movables.
- Haua house (Omvikedalen, Kvinnherad: A typical Norwegian «lemstove» (house with a loft). The Childhood home of author Jens Tvedt.
- Gjerdetunet (Mauranger, Kvinnherad): Courtyard with open hearth hut, and a storehouse from 1588.
- Seløystova (Tysnes): Originally it was a open heart hut from the early 1700s. Which has been built on in several stages. It was most likely a residential house.