Hetlevik: Local History and Trails

Hetlevik combines insights into local history with trails to larger green spaces and the entrance to Follesemarka. If you’re looking for a place for your trip where you can explore local history and nature as separate interests, you’ll find both here as concrete points of interest. Its history spans an archaeological settlement and the topics covered by the Hetlevik Museum.

Hetlevik and its local history

A local history museum was established in the former cannery of Einar O. Hausvik & Co. The Hetlevik Museum exhibition covers the history of the former business and the local history of Hetlevik. The museum has a permanent exhibition at Kulturfabrikken in Hetlevik. This places both a specific part of local industrial history and the broader history of the place at the centre.

The permanent exhibition includes objects, texts, pictures, documents, maps and descriptions of cultural value to Hetlevik and Askøy. These different formats offer different ways into the subject: alongside objects, the exhibition includes written and visual materials as well as maps. The collection also includes furnishings from the former shop south of the cannery. This connection to the former shop broadens the picture beyond the cannery to include other aspects of local life.

The local history presented covers everything from clubs and organisations to everyday life, houses and households, as well as seafaring, fishing and fish processing. Trade, industry and other local activities are also included. Those interested in local history will find not just a single subject, but several aspects of community and economic life in Hetlevik. To arrange a guided tour of the Hetlevik Museum, contact Bente Fosse by phone on 901 56 578 or by email at bentfos@gmail.com.

Archaeological traces and trails

The area’s older history is also part of its character: the archaeological settlement in Hetlevik is dated to the period from 500 BC to AD 500. An Iron Age settlement in Hetlevik is registered as Askeladden ID 91777-1 and lies beneath a rock overhang. These two details offer a glimpse into settlement history that reaches far back beyond the topics of everyday life and the local economy covered by the museum.

For outdoor recreation, trails lead to larger green spaces and the entrance to Follesemarka. An old trail also runs between Strusshamn and Hetlevik. These trails offer different points of reference for getting to know the area: one leads to green spaces and a forest entrance, while the old trail connects the two places named. If you’re considering Hetlevik as a base for your trip, you can take these different local connections into account alongside your interest in the museum and history.

A road project in Hetlevik

The Fv. 5246 project includes a stretch of road from Slettebrekklia in the south to Hetlevik in the north. The project comprises 2,500 metres of new road and a 600-metre tunnel to Hetlevik. These are distinct from the trails to green spaces and the old trail between Strusshamn and Hetlevik: they are components of the named road project.

Discover more places

If you’d like to explore more local pages: Ramnanger, Strusshamn, Kjerrgarden, Kleppestø, Herdla, Ask, Hauglandshella and Davanger.

For the main trip overview: Askøy.