Veøya medieval site
Provided by:
Stiftelsen Nordmøre Museum
Welcome to Veøya! Veøya is a key site on the "Coastal Pilgrimage Trail", and has a medieval church, a parsonage from the 18th century and many archeological cultural monuments. In this audio guide you will get to know Veøya's history, and hear more about the people, the places and some of the stories from earlier times and you can also walk your own pilgrimage trail. All this you get to experience with good narrator voices, pictures and text as you approach the places along the route.
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Points of interest
#1
Nordvågen
You are now arriving at Nordvågen, which today is the only harbour on Veøya. In the Middle Ages there was one more harbour, it was called Sørvågen and was on the opposite side of the church. The particularly good harbour conditions and the island’s central location, meant that at one time it was Romsdal’s most important hub. The fjord made the island a lively trading town and a religious and cultural hub until the arrival of the Black Death in the 14th century. Here in Nordvågen many poles have been found protruding from the clay bed which have been dated to around the year 1200. These are the remains of the old Medieval harbour that was situated here. At that time the sea level was 2 metres higher than it is today. Further in, remains of a stone guards’ structure have also been found in the harbour area, which may indicate that there was a sailing barrier set up. This protected the boats from attacks and theft in the Middle Ages, the barrier had an opening in the middle allowing the ships to sail in and out. Today a sailing barrier is not necessary but keep the thought of Nordvågen as a busy port a thousand years ago in your mind when you land on the island. The pictures show amongst other things, the excavation of the harbour poles with Brit Solli and a drawing of how the harbour may have looked in earlier times.
#2
Veøya in the Middle Ages
As you walk up towards the church, you can fantasize a little about Veøya’s history. It’s central position in the fjord made it a natural centre for the Medieval people. The island is not big and is completely without a water source. 10 000 years ago, the sea level was 70 metres higher than it is today. 3300 years ago, during the Bronze Age, it consisted of 3 islands, and the sea level was around 10 metres higher than it is today. This limited the island as a settlement back then. Significant traces of fossil fields have been found. These are traces of old agricultural use which shows that the island was a settlement at some point in the past. The oldest building on the island is the Church which was completed around the year 1200. Previously, there was also a cross Church here, which probably functioned as a parish Church. There are also traces of a third church, which could have belonged to the order of monks who lived on the island, or have been a small chapel. East of today’s church are the remains of old stone walls. Within the remains of these stone fences evidence of black earth stops. Black soil is the remnants of a settlement on the island and it was of course natural that they did not throw waste on ‘holy land’. Within the remains of the stone walls there have been many burial finds. The graves are positioned with the heads to the West, so that the dead could look towards the East and meet the new day and Christ. The graves have been interpreted as Christian burial finds and many of them have been dated to around the year 950, very early in the process of Christianisation in Norway. It is also believed that there was a royal estate on the island, and remains of stone embankments are assumed to have a connection to it. (In the pictures you can see the extent of the marketplace on Veøya and you can meet some happy Vikings if you partake in one of the tours at the Museum.)
#3
Did Håkon the good build a church on Veøya?
Håkon the good was the King of Norway from around 933 to 961. He was the youngest son of Harald Fairhair. At the age of 10 he was sent to England to be raised by King Athelstan. Therefore, he was also known as Adalsteinfostre. When he was 15 he returned to Norway and was proclaimed King. By the time Håkon returned, Christianity had already been in Norway for many hundreds of years, both amongst individuals and small groups. But those were individual cases and had not affected society in a decisive way. During his time in England Håkon encountered Christianity and he was the first King to attempt to introduce Christianity into Norway. Snorre tells that Håkon brought Priests with him and built three churches in Møre. Håkon did not manage to Christianise Norway. According to Snorre, people came south from Trøndelag and killed the priests and burnt the churches. We cannot say for sure, but it is not unlikely due to the central position that Veøya held at that time, that one of the churches built by Håkon the good would have been built here on Veøya. The drawings in the pictures give us a good idea as to what such a church would have looked like and also perhaps a Royal estate. The painting in the picture is painted by Peter Nicolai Arbo, 1860 and is taken from Wikimedia. You can read more about Håkon the good here: https://www.nrk.no/kultur/hakon-1-_haraldsson_-adalsteinsfostre-_den-gode_-1.896477
#4
The Medieval church and traces from the reformation
The Pulpit naturally catches your eye when you enter the church. Who could have donated this beautiful work of art? On the pulpit we can see many initials, amongst them Z.C.H and G.N. the aforementioned is Zacharias Holck the second George Noone. Both of them were heavily involved in the lucrative sawmill industry in the 17th century. Zacharias Holck was the parish priest on Veøya. Veøya Church is devoted to the disciple Peter. Today there are few traces of the Middle Ages left in the church. Most of the interior is from the 17th century, such as the wooden floor, the pews, the extended arch, the large memorial board on the left side of the choir stalls, the pulpit, and the altar. The pulpit and altar are typical of the time of the reformation. The altarpiece is a catechism board. On the outside you can see the Virgin Mary and the Angel Gabriel. On the inside there is the text of the Lord’s prayer and the instigation words of communion. Up on the brick wall, to the left of the choir opening there is a window. If you peek in, you will see the remains of a staircase. This is a clear sign that the church was built in the Middle Ages. The staircase leads up to the lectern, a gallery over the choir arch where bible readings were read, and Priests delivered their sermons. The lectern was later removed and replaced with the pulpit. You can see on the drawing, what it is thought that the church looked like at the time. The picture also shows some of the fixtures in the church.
#5
Thomas von Westen
After the black death in the 14th century Veøya lost its significance. From the 16th century up until 1901 the Priest along with his family and servants were the only people who lived on Veøya. The Parish of Veøya was one of the richest in Vestland. Several prominent parish priests left their mark here. One of them was Thomas von Westen. He came to Veøya in 1711. The middle painting under the gallery is of Thomas von Westen. Thomas von Westen was a complex person. Along with 6 other Priests from Romsdal and Nordmøre he started the Priests’ association ‘seven star’. They were keen to start reading training so that people could read the bible and psalm books. At the same time, he fought with zeal against what he considered to be the moral decay of the time. This led to a difficult relationship between him and the villagers. Thomas von Westen only lived on Veøya for 5 years. In 1975 he was transferred to Latinskolen in Trondheim. Here he was responsible for missionary work amongst the Sami people in the North of Norway. He believed that the Sami people should receive teachings and preaching in their own language. Already, whilst still on Veøya he had translated Luther’s small catechism into Sami, and in Trondheim he taught in the Sami language. Thomas von Westen was known as the ‘Apostle of the Sami’.
#6
The Vicarage on Veøya
If you stand in front of the vicarage, you are standing on old ground. According to written sources, there has been a residential dwelling for priests on Veøya since 1664. It is likely that there were Priests here before that, but there no verified sources to confirm that. It was the Priest Henrik Holck who built a two-storey house, servants’ quarters and a storehouse. The next residential dwelling was built by the then Priest Jørgen Meyer, who just before 1700 built the ‘’Nystuen’ a two-story house. Priest Erik Røring built the present vicarage. He served in Veøya for 48 years, from the middle of the 18th century. The operation was efficient, and the farm well run. Many new buildings were built, in 1752 the northern part, which was the Priest’s residence was built and the year after the ‘Allmuens herrestue’. It was built as two separate timber structures close together. You can see the difference in the height of the rooves and the cladding. The gap between the buildings was made in Priest Arnet’s time in the 1850s, when he used half for private purposes. The ‘Allmuens herrestue’ was the Parish’s official seat, Bishops and other prominent church personnel would stay here and meetings were also held here. From 1840 Parish board meetings were held here. In the 1890s there were in total 24 buildings which belonged to the vicarage. In 1896 Rosenlund was the last Priest on Veøya and the church itself was closed as a parish church in 1901. Today, in addition to the old main house there are servants’ quarters to the north which are used by the museum and a barn that has been partially rebuilt for the purpose of housing visitors to the island, for dining and shelter against the weather, in addition to housing necessary tools for maintenance and toilets. The pictures show some of the fixtures in the Vicarage and how it would have looked in the 1950s.
#7
William Coucheron Aamot and Veøya
William Coucheron Aamot was the last owner of the vicarage. He was born in Stavanger in 1868 and was a lieutenant-colonel in the marines. For four years he worked in the customs service for the Emperor in China. He was especially interested in history, was patriotic and interested in politics. This resulted in many books, articles, and the giving of many lectures, which were his main livelihood. In Kristiana he and his wife Sigrid were a part of the ‘sarske organisation’, with amongst others, Bjørnson, Kielland, Nansen and Grieg and the majority of Norway’s ‘intellectual aristocrats’. Dissolution of the Union was a hot topic and William who came from an old French officer’s family, could trace his family back to Halvdan Black and a number of Norwegian Kings. Therefore, he saw himself as a realistic prospect for King. when Norway was to choose a King. In 1905, he was on a lecture tour in these parts when he heard of a Vicarage that was to be auctioned off. That was Veøya and after having received possession of the island and the farm, he received a grant of 8000 kr. In 1905 his family including four small children arrived at their new home. The landlord, as he liked to refer to himself, added the covered entrance and tower and renamed it ‘Williamsborg’. However, the Vicarage was protected, and he did it without notifying the Directorate of Cultural Heritage. In 1926 he had already built his own tomb, long before he actually died in 1948. The Romsdal Museum received the property as a gift from the remaining family in 1991, with the obligation to safeguard the vicarage for posterity. In the picture you can see alongside William Coucheron-Aamot his wife Sigrid.
#8
Futgarden and archaelogical excavations
If you head Northeast from the Vicarage, you will find the remains of an old farm from the Middle Ages. It is called ‘Futgarden’. Standing in this area, you can see clear signs of a building in the field. The discoveries were made by the architect Brit Solli and were found on the edge of the black earth area. She also found fragments of stoneware or ‘Siegburg stoneware’ as it is called which dates from the 15th century. She also found a penny with a lily shaped cross. The coin was minted during the reign of Håkon the 5th at the end of the 13th century. The discoveries tell us that the house that stood here in the Middle Ages disappeared during the 14th and 15th centuries. But, the dating of burnt bark and pine timber suggest that there could already have been a building on the site as early as the 11th or 12th century. There are clear traces of two buildings on the site. If the first house was already built as early as the 11th century this means that the trading centre quickly grew and was at its peak in the early Middle Ages. The pictures show the area and a drawing of the farm. The yellow rings on the pictures with school pupils show where the corner stones of the house were located, they are each standing on their own cornerstone.
#9
Bondevika og leidangsnausta
If you follow the trail from the church to the Northwest of the island you will come to Bondevika. In Bondevika are the remains of 2 large boathouses. The embankments that supported the boathouse walls are clearly visible. The Boathouses were built in the second half of the 900s, and were probably a part of the Leidang system. Leidang was an arrangement to get free farmers to equip and man ships for expeditions and war. In Norway the leidangen was establised by Håkon the good around 950. The coastline, as far as the salmon went up the rivers was divided by ship owners. Each ship owner would be responsible for providing a longship of people and provisions for the King’s use. The largest boathouse in Bondevika could have housed a 20 sesser. A 20 sesser had 40 pairs of oars and a crew of up to 100 men. The smaller could have housed a small ‘knar’ or bus that was used for the transportation of people and goods. Leidang ships were to be built and stored on the King’s soil. It was also a requirement that the sails for the Leidang ships were stored in the church. We can assume that the boathouses in Bondevika served as Leidang boathouses from the end of the Viking age onwards. At the Romsdal museum in Molde you can see a 3d visualization of both the Leidang boathouse and the marketplace, you can move around in the virtual landscape which has been created based on the wealth of materials discovered from the excavations and research carried out on Veøya. The picture shows the position of the boathouse and how it would have looked like in the 900s.
#10
Coastal Pilgrims of yesterday and today
Whilst you are in Bondevika imagine that you are in the Middle Ages. On the beach, a small group of people come strolling towards you at a slow pace. They have rowed for many hours and are exhausted. They have set anchor at Veøya to rest their tired limbs, have something to eat and get a good night’s sleep. They are coastal pilgrims on their way to Nidaros Cathederal. What is depicted here, occurred on Veøya during the Middle Ages. The pilgrims went on foot, but many also travelled by boat along the coast on their way to Norway’s main pilgrimage destination. The pilgrimage tradition is still alive. Today there is an established coastal pilgrim path that begins in Egersund and extends up the West coast right the way to Trondheim. Veøya is one of many key points along this route. Today Veøya stands out as a beautiful and lush island. There are green fields which are reminiscent of psalm number 23 in the Old Testament. On many of the gravestones outside the church you will also find a butterfly. Butterflies are a symbol of Christ’s resurrection and carry a message of hope. Both psalm 23 and the hope of Christ’s resurrection can be found in the pilgrim’s prayer that is used on Veøya. There is also a pilgrimage route on the island. It starts in Bondevika and ends at the church with several stops on the way. A simple pilgrimage guide is available for use during the walk. The Romsdal Museum and church wish you a good pilgrim’s walk through this ancient cultural landscape!