Our Story
It all started with a coincidence when a roadtrip to Jotunheimen turned into a spontanious climbing holiday in Lofoten
“While standing on the top of a mountain, a new local friend of ours pointed down towards Henningsvær and told us about an old factory that was for sale."
How it all started
In the summer of 2014, a poor weather forecast in Jotunheimen led us, two pairs of brothers from Bergen, to change our holiday plans and head towards the Lofoten islands instead.
With exceptionally perfect weather up in the North, we spent two weeks sleeping outside, climbing, and exploring the islands, immersing ourselves in the local culture and gatherings with the locals.
"We had forgotten our tent poles–so we spent every night sleeping under the midnight sun and open sky."
After two sunny weeks in the islands, we headed out for a hike outside the picturesque small fishing village of Henningsvær. From the top of the mountain Festvåg, our new local friend pointed towards an old factory within the village, and mentioned that it was for sale.
After our last night sleeping under the midnight sun we decided to go and see the building before heading out to our journey towards home. Blown away by the industrial details, the view towards the mountains of Lofoten rising straight from the sea, and the inspiring history of the building, we collected all our savings and bought the building with ambitions to create a meeting place across cultural expressions in a small local community.
“A couple of days later we had collected all our savings and bought the factory.”
2015–2016
In 2015 we gathered our friends and started cleaning out the old building that had been closed for a decade. The work was mostly done in the spirit of "dugnad," a generous mindset that’s still alive in the village of Henningsvær today. Alongside all the heavy lifting and cleaning, we made time for moments with friends, parties, and shared meals around a long table.
In 2016 we managed to secure funding from Nordland County and Kulturminnefondet to restore the roof and facade, partly thanks to its unique concrete-filled wooden cast construction from 1948.
That same summer we also restored the roof and built a small bar on our ocean view terrace using a toilet container, wooden pallets, and part of the original roof. It looked so shady that people didn't believe it was a legal bar. Empty beer bottles from that summer got turned into a light installation that's still hanging in the hotel staircase today—a lasting reminder of that time.