Cultural heritage days in Hemnes

A round trip with varied cultural traces in Hemnes.

In the autumn of 2021, Hemnes municipality arranged two eventful cultural heritage days, which provided varied meetings with traces from the past. The remnants of culture are not always flashy, but for many, the trip became a memory for life.

It started with a day and a half with inspections for people from the Cultural Heritage Fund, the municipality and voluntary associations. With the restored fishing boat Remi Ketil, the trip went to the largely abandoned Tvertforlandet. Then there was a visit to a venerable farm on Sund, old boat joints, barns and farms in Bjerkadalen, plus Arthurskøtet and Lapphella on Hemnes.

After completing the inspection, it was ready for an open city walk along the seafront of Hemnesberget. Here we got stories about Lapphella, the industry in various varieties, the dramatic war events and the reconstruction after the war. Finally, there was a tour of a German mountain bunker, hitherto unknown to many.

“Are all these cultural monuments?”, one participant asked. Yes, was the answer. Any trace of human activity can be seen as a cultural monument. This applies regardless of whether the tracks were created by farmers, boat builders, teachers or prisoners of war.

In the work on the cultural heritage plan for Hemnes, older boat building, Sami history, forests and outfields, war history, reconstruction history and so-called technical-industrial history (recent boat building, power development, etc.), have been identified as priority areas. Together, these create a holistic cultural environment, which surrounds our lives.

Imagine how much there is to dwell on, about which we can both experience, use and gain knowledge. The pictures below are taken from the two cultural heritage days. They give a glimpse into a diverse cultural environment. You will find many other cultural traces around on our website.