The Norwegian Sawmill museum
Encyclopedia
The Norwegian Sawmill Museum is a museum
located at Spillum
, to the immediate south of Namsos
. The museum opened in 1991, based on the then closed down Spillum Sawmill & Planing, a sawmill
from 1884. The Norwegian sawmill
industry
were around the turn of the nineteenth century one of Norway’s largest industries with many hundred steam powered sawmills. Spillum Dampsag & Hovleri is the last preserved sawmill from this period and tells the story about the national sawmill history. The Sawmill Museum is today one out of four departments at the regional museum, ”Museet Midt”. The three other departments are The Coast Museum in North Trøndelag, Namdal Museum and Nord-Trøndelag County Gallery. Norwegian Sawmill Museum manages the technical-industrial cultural environment at Spillum Sawmill & Planing, as well as the boat ”MB Hauka” and a collection of objects from the national history of sawmills, displaying sawmill equipment coming from most of the country’s regions. Norwegian Sawmill Museum has a staff of 11 employees. The staff run the Museum from the facilities at the sawmill.
The burgeoning industrialization and urban development led to the emergence of the modern day society. These trends gave rise to a new and growing demand for lumber for the construction of housing and industrial buildings in Norway, particularly in the cities. A booming sawmill industry emerged.
As a medium sized sawmill, Spillum Dampsag og Høvleri predominantly produced for North Norway, the northern region of Norway. The products ranged from sawn timber and unplaned cladding to mouldings and panels. It even produced prefabricated homes, interiors included. Homes for workmen and beach cabins were produced based on standardized designs.
In the 1940s, the sawmill was modernized. Electric motors were mounted on the saws and the planer. From this point onwards, the damp engine was inoperative, except for the fact that they still continued to use the boiler to generate steam for the process of drying sawn timber in a new building set up for this purpose adjacent to the production facilities.
In total, the production facility and the drying building have a ground area of about 2960 m², a fact which makes this building one of the largest wooden buildings in the Nordic countries.
In 1986, the production at the saw mill ended. At the time, Norwegian Museum of Science and Technology worked to find a steam-powered saw mill that could be preserved as a technical-industrial cultural heritage
site. Spillum Sawmill turned out to be the best preserved sawmill of its kind. The foundation Spillum Sawmill & Planing, Norwegian Sawmill Museum was subsequently formed. The foundation bought the sawmill, including the buildings, machines and the inventory. The acquisition was financially supported by the Directorate for Cultural Heritage.
The sawmill was then extensively restored and refurbished before it was opened to the public in summer 1991. In 1994 Spillum Sawmill & Planing was selected as one cultural memorial site to give priority in the conservation plan of the Directorate for Cultural Heritage.
The conservation of craftsmanship knowledge has been a key priority area at Spillum Sawmill & Planing. The saw mill has been able to maintain low scale production on the old saws and the planer. Consequently, a “living museum” has been achieved. The saw mill produces amongst other things high quality replicas for building restoration projects.
The entirety of the saw mill site, with the buildings, machines and other objects, including an all but complete corporate archive from 1884 onwards, constitutes a time capsule from the early industrialization in Norway.
in 1934. The vessel was ordered by the company Albert Collett, and assigned to Salsbruket Pulp Mill where it was operative until 1985 except for the duration of World War II
. The Germans then requisitioned it for their military base in Rørvik
.
The vessel was mainly used for towing of raw material
to the pulp mill. In winter it could also be used for ice breaking whenever needed. Moreover it was used to freight the owners and their families when they left the capital to come on a visit. The boat then looked glamorous, neatly cleaned and shined up for the occasion. As Salsbruket was cut off from the mainland, the boat came to play a greater role than initially intended for the growing society which derived their livelihood from the pulp mill. Salsbruket was first connected to the mainland in 1968, when a regular ferry transport was opened. Before that, whenever there was a medical emergency, Hauka and its crew often played a crucial role. On several occasions their effort was life-saving even. The fact that three births took place on Hauka is a case in point.
When the pulp mill at Salsbruket burnt down in 1985, the vessel was sold to a buyer outside Namdalen
. In 1991 Hauka was brought back to the region and was subsequently taken over by a joint ownership, registered as “MB Hauka BA”. Its main objective was to restore Hauka and make sure it stayed in Namdalen. In 1994, The Directorate for Cultural Heritage gave Hauka status as “protected” and has considerably supported the restoration of the vessel financially. 1 January 2004, the ownership was transferred to Norwegian Saw Mill Museum. As of 2011, M/B Hauka has in recent years been refurbished for a total worth of close to 1 million kroner. However, there still remains a lot of restoration work to be done before the vessel can again be seen on Namsenfjorden.
Museum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
located at Spillum
Spillum
Spillum is a village in the municipality of Namsos in Nord-Trøndelag county, Norway. The village is located along the Namsen river about directly south of the town of Namsos and about north of the village of Klinga. The Norwegian Sawmill museum is located in Spillum....
, to the immediate south of Namsos
Namsos
is a town and municipality in Nord-Trøndelag county, Norway. It is part of the Namdalen region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Namsos. Other villages in the municipality include Bangsund, Klinga, Ramsvika, Skomsvoll, and Spillum....
. The museum opened in 1991, based on the then closed down Spillum Sawmill & Planing, a sawmill
Sawmill
A sawmill is a facility where logs are cut into boards.-Sawmill process:A sawmill's basic operation is much like those of hundreds of years ago; a log enters on one end and dimensional lumber exits on the other end....
from 1884. The Norwegian sawmill
Sawmill
A sawmill is a facility where logs are cut into boards.-Sawmill process:A sawmill's basic operation is much like those of hundreds of years ago; a log enters on one end and dimensional lumber exits on the other end....
industry
Industry
Industry refers to the production of an economic good or service within an economy.-Industrial sectors:There are four key industrial economic sectors: the primary sector, largely raw material extraction industries such as mining and farming; the secondary sector, involving refining, construction,...
were around the turn of the nineteenth century one of Norway’s largest industries with many hundred steam powered sawmills. Spillum Dampsag & Hovleri is the last preserved sawmill from this period and tells the story about the national sawmill history. The Sawmill Museum is today one out of four departments at the regional museum, ”Museet Midt”. The three other departments are The Coast Museum in North Trøndelag, Namdal Museum and Nord-Trøndelag County Gallery. Norwegian Sawmill Museum manages the technical-industrial cultural environment at Spillum Sawmill & Planing, as well as the boat ”MB Hauka” and a collection of objects from the national history of sawmills, displaying sawmill equipment coming from most of the country’s regions. Norwegian Sawmill Museum has a staff of 11 employees. The staff run the Museum from the facilities at the sawmill.
Spillum Sawmill & Planing
Spillum Sawmill & Planing was founded in 1884, as one of the first steam powered sawmills in Norway. Until then the sawmill industry had been powered by water-driven vertical saws. Still it had been one of the country’s largest export industries for centuries. In the last half of the 19th century, the export greatly diminished. However, the export was largely replaced by production to growing domestic markets.The burgeoning industrialization and urban development led to the emergence of the modern day society. These trends gave rise to a new and growing demand for lumber for the construction of housing and industrial buildings in Norway, particularly in the cities. A booming sawmill industry emerged.
As a medium sized sawmill, Spillum Dampsag og Høvleri predominantly produced for North Norway, the northern region of Norway. The products ranged from sawn timber and unplaned cladding to mouldings and panels. It even produced prefabricated homes, interiors included. Homes for workmen and beach cabins were produced based on standardized designs.
In the 1940s, the sawmill was modernized. Electric motors were mounted on the saws and the planer. From this point onwards, the damp engine was inoperative, except for the fact that they still continued to use the boiler to generate steam for the process of drying sawn timber in a new building set up for this purpose adjacent to the production facilities.
In total, the production facility and the drying building have a ground area of about 2960 m², a fact which makes this building one of the largest wooden buildings in the Nordic countries.
In 1986, the production at the saw mill ended. At the time, Norwegian Museum of Science and Technology worked to find a steam-powered saw mill that could be preserved as a technical-industrial cultural heritage
Cultural heritage
Cultural heritage is the legacy of physical artifacts and intangible attributes of a group or society that are inherited from past generations, maintained in the present and bestowed for the benefit of future generations...
site. Spillum Sawmill turned out to be the best preserved sawmill of its kind. The foundation Spillum Sawmill & Planing, Norwegian Sawmill Museum was subsequently formed. The foundation bought the sawmill, including the buildings, machines and the inventory. The acquisition was financially supported by the Directorate for Cultural Heritage.
The sawmill was then extensively restored and refurbished before it was opened to the public in summer 1991. In 1994 Spillum Sawmill & Planing was selected as one cultural memorial site to give priority in the conservation plan of the Directorate for Cultural Heritage.
The conservation of craftsmanship knowledge has been a key priority area at Spillum Sawmill & Planing. The saw mill has been able to maintain low scale production on the old saws and the planer. Consequently, a “living museum” has been achieved. The saw mill produces amongst other things high quality replicas for building restoration projects.
The entirety of the saw mill site, with the buildings, machines and other objects, including an all but complete corporate archive from 1884 onwards, constitutes a time capsule from the early industrialization in Norway.
M/B Hauka
M/B “Hauka” is a 16,5m long vessel drawn by the engineer Richard G. Furuholmen and built at Moen Yard in RisørRisør
is a city and municipality in Aust-Agder county, Norway. The city belongs to the traditional region of Sørlandet. It is a popular tourist place. The surrounding area includes many small lakes and hills, and is known for its beautiful coastline as well....
in 1934. The vessel was ordered by the company Albert Collett, and assigned to Salsbruket Pulp Mill where it was operative until 1985 except for the duration of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. The Germans then requisitioned it for their military base in Rørvik
Rørvik
Rørvik is a port village in the municipality of Vikna in Nord-Trøndelag county, Norway. The village also serves as the administrative centre of the municipality. It is on the eastern side of the Vikna archipelago on the island of Inner-Vikna. The village has a population of 2,721. The...
.
The vessel was mainly used for towing of raw material
Raw material
A raw material or feedstock is the basic material from which a product is manufactured or made, frequently used with an extended meaning. For example, the term is used to denote material that came from nature and is in an unprocessed or minimally processed state. Latex, iron ore, logs, and crude...
to the pulp mill. In winter it could also be used for ice breaking whenever needed. Moreover it was used to freight the owners and their families when they left the capital to come on a visit. The boat then looked glamorous, neatly cleaned and shined up for the occasion. As Salsbruket was cut off from the mainland, the boat came to play a greater role than initially intended for the growing society which derived their livelihood from the pulp mill. Salsbruket was first connected to the mainland in 1968, when a regular ferry transport was opened. Before that, whenever there was a medical emergency, Hauka and its crew often played a crucial role. On several occasions their effort was life-saving even. The fact that three births took place on Hauka is a case in point.
When the pulp mill at Salsbruket burnt down in 1985, the vessel was sold to a buyer outside Namdalen
Namdalen
Namdalen is a traditional district in the central part of Norway, consisting of the municipalities Namsos, Grong, Overhalla, Røyrvik, Fosnes, Nærøy, Høylandet, Namdalseid, Flatanger, Lierne, Leka, Namsskogan, and Vikna, all in Nord-Trøndelag county. The district has two towns: Kolvereid and Namsos...
. In 1991 Hauka was brought back to the region and was subsequently taken over by a joint ownership, registered as “MB Hauka BA”. Its main objective was to restore Hauka and make sure it stayed in Namdalen. In 1994, The Directorate for Cultural Heritage gave Hauka status as “protected” and has considerably supported the restoration of the vessel financially. 1 January 2004, the ownership was transferred to Norwegian Saw Mill Museum. As of 2011, M/B Hauka has in recent years been refurbished for a total worth of close to 1 million kroner. However, there still remains a lot of restoration work to be done before the vessel can again be seen on Namsenfjorden.
Literature
- Hustad, Åge (1999): MB Hauka. Bruksbåten - skyssbåten - slepebåten - isbryteren NamsosNamsosis a town and municipality in Nord-Trøndelag county, Norway. It is part of the Namdalen region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Namsos. Other villages in the municipality include Bangsund, Klinga, Ramsvika, Skomsvoll, and Spillum....
, ISBN 82-91134-20-0. - Mørkved, Karl L. (1949): Skogbruk og treforedling i Namdal. Historisk streiftog TrondheimTrondheimTrondheim , historically, Nidaros and Trondhjem, is a city and municipality in Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway. With a population of 173,486, it is the third most populous municipality and city in the country, although the fourth largest metropolitan area. It is the administrative centre of...
. - Sandvik, Pål T. (2008): Spillum Dampsag & Høvleri. I: Sandvik, Pål T. og Margrethe C. Stang (red): Industrispor. Fra Melbu til Lindesnes AschehougAschehougH. Aschehoug & Co , commonly known as Aschehoug, is one of the largest independent publishing companies in Norway. -History:...
, ISBN 978-82-03-23606-8.