– We have found toilet paper after tourists have done their needy number two, to put it nicely, says fruit farmer Rakel Optun Skagen. She is one of only 34 permanent residents in the village of Ornes. This summer it was full of people on the tiny headland in Lustrafjorden in Sogn. A record number of people visited the world heritage stave church Urnes and around 40,000 tourists visited the village. The tourist record has nevertheless brought with it a number of unwanted problems. Only three toilets are on offer waiting for visitors. On the driveway to the orchard, Optun found the remains of human poo. This is what it looked like on the driveway to Rakel Skagen’s orchard this summer. Photo: Private – It’s not okay, it’s completely disgusting. The stave church at Urnes is not alone in its attendance records. The four stave churches in Parish together had over 100,000 visitors this summer. But increasing interest in the churches as both cultural heritage and the surrounding area is under pressure, says general secretary Ola Fjeldheim of the Historical Heritage Association. – For the stave churches at Borgund and Urnes, we think we have reached a ceiling for the number of tourists. Sogn Avis first wrote about the case. Tourists come from far and wide to see Urnes stave church from around 1130. The medieval church has been on UNESCO’s world heritage list since 1979. Photo: Ole Kristian Svalheim / news Will limit the number of tourists Bæsj on detours, and a lot of traffic on narrow roads and narrow roads are some of the challenges the record season has brought with it, says Fjeldheim. Then it can also be more difficult to give the visitors a good experience. – It is important that we who manage such a great culture show it off. At the same time, none of these churches were built to have so many people visiting, he says. Urne’s stave church had a visitor record this summer. Photo: Ingeborg Grindheim Slinde / news He wants the tourists to be spread out more throughout the season. – We will look at what kind of measures we can take to limit the flow to the churches somewhat. In addition, the Ancient History Association is working to get a service building and visitor center in place. – It is important both for toilet facilities and safe visits, but also for tourists to visit other places in the local area and leave money in the local community. – We are happy that the stave church is popular, but there is a limit to how many people can make the trip both in terms of the geography and the infrastructure in the area. World heritage coordinator Åslaug Hansegård at the stave church in Urnes calls the attendance record a double-edged sword. Photo: Ingeborg Grindheim Slinde / news Dirty problem all over the country Many tourists and few doers is a well-known problem in this country. Earlier this summer, desperate tourists broke into a toilet in the Western Cape, as the restaurant owner was tired of not being paid to operate. In Lofoten, both permanent residents and nature managers are tired of having nature and gardens soiled by excrement from tourists. Tourism in both Lofoten and Western Norway has advocated a tourist tax to finance better toilet facilities and rubbish removal, but in the proposal for the national budget for 2024 there was no proposal for a tourist tax. Rakel Skagen covered sawdust over the remains after visiting the toilet in her orchard. Photo: Sondre Dalaker / news In the meantime, fruit farmer Rakel Skagen in Ornes hopes that a new toilet will be installed for the next tourist season. – A festival toilet might have been a good solution.
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Record visits put cultural heritage under pressure – news Vestland
