For about half a million you can buy Skalmen lighthouse, at the very end of the Skjergard in Smøla, as far north as you can get in Western Norway. Included in the purchase are almost 40 acres of islets, a lighthouse with a residence, an engine house and a quay with a boathouse. There is over 200 square meters of usable space. But it is not without reason that the Norwegian Coastal Administration has chosen to sell it. The Skalmen guy might be yours, if you want to buy it. Photo: Marius André Jenssen Stenberg / news – Skalmen is an islet that for all intents and purposes must be considered almost inaccessible. He is very exposed to the weather, and has a bird conservation decision from 1 May to 29 July, which increases inaccessibility, says Sven Martin Tønnessen in the Coastal Agency. This means that you cannot set foot on the island for three of the finest months of the year. The lighthouse is also not accessible by road. From the nearest town and airport, it takes two hours and two ferries before a seven kilometer long boat trip awaits. Skalmen lighthouse is located in Smøla municipality in Møre og Romsdal. The lighthouse station has not been manned for over 20 years, and the Coastal Administration had decided to demolish it. After great interest from several people who want to preserve the lighthouse, it has now been put out for an open meeting. – Either we get clarification that someone wants to take over the station as it is, do something with it and run it on. Or we end up returning him to nature, says Tønessen. Sven Martin Tønnessen is director of transport, ports and shipping at the Norwegian Coastal Administration. Photo: Øyvind Berge Sæbjørnsen / news Expensive renovation project But you have to expect a lot of work and money for both operation and maintenance. The decay is extensive and the weather has wreaked havoc for many winters. – What kind of condition is the fire in? – Bad. Exterior, bad. Inside, bad. It is quite clear from the prospectus that there are special challenges out there, both internally and externally, says Tønessen. This is what the inside of the lighthouse looks like (December 2022). There has been mercury in the lighthouse. The Norwegian Coastal Administration has carried out renovations and thinks the level is now very low, but recommends that the buyer has control over the development. There is also a lot of renovation work to be done in the engine house. Asbjørn Dyrnes in Skalmen’s friends are keen to preserve the old lighthouse history. Skalmen has also been digitized by the Norwegian Coastal Agency, and you can explore it on their pages. The lighthouse with the residence and engine house was built in 1907. The first lighthouse keeper was first mate Anton Lund, who was on the Gjøa expedition of the self-confessed Roald Amundsen. Skalmen lighthouse is located in the middle of a nature reserve where many birds nest. Among other things, up to 200 pairs of black harriers and around 50 pairs of eiders have been counted. In the past, grebes, gray gulls, herring gulls and red-billed terns also nested there, according to the prospectus. Skalmen lighthouse is a little easier to reach if you have a helicopter. Photo: Marius André Jenssen Stenberg / news Exceptional interest According to broker Morten Boxaspen Høvik, there has been exceptional interest in the special hall object. He perceives a handful of them as serious. – I hope someone will come here and take care of the object. Smøla municipality hopes so, and the Coastal Agency actually hopes so, says Høvik in Eiendomsmegler1. Around 22,000 have clicked on the Finn advertisement as of 8 March, says estate agent Morten Boxaspen Høvik. Photo: Marius André Jenssen Stenberg / news In December 2022, the new friend association Skalmen’s friends went on a sight-seeing trip with the Coastal Agency. – We are very happy that it has finally come on the market, it has taken a year. Now we need time to get our bearings. It has been quite a winter out there, so decay has progressed. For a friends association, the economy is the biggest challenge, says Sindre Holberg in Skalmen’s friends. Sindre Holberg (left) and the rest of Skalmen’s friends during an inspection of Skalmen in 2022. Photo: Marius André Jenssen Stenberg / news It is not at all certain that they will come to put up a stall, then they are dependent on having a cooperation partner. – This will cost money. The Coastal Agency received 6 million that time for maintenance, that says something about what the state itself meant, says Holberg. David went out in the stormy Ingunn to parody news reporters. Foreign mediums thought it was real. Wants preservation Smølværingen, who is both skipper and pilot, is primarily concerned with the lighthouse being preserved. But he doesn’t think anyone should buy it. – As a local, I am positive about everyone who gets involved in preserving Skalmen as a landmark, and cheer for them. At the same time, it is important that those who show interest take it seriously and know what it is. As locals, we know that there are demanding weather conditions out there, and people have to take that seriously, says Holberg. There is also a boathouse and quay with the lighthouse. Photo: Marius André Jenssen Stenberg / news Møre and Romsdal county council believes the pier station is an important regional coastal cultural monument that should be taken care of, and which is listed in their conservation plan. – The lighthouse station was built just after 1900 during the hectic lighthouse building period we had in Norway at the beginning of the 20th century. It came after the tragic accident that happened outside Titran in the south of Frøya in 1899, when 142 fishermen died, says county conservator Hilde Arna Tokle Yri. Skalmen is one of the four closest to where the Titran accident happened.
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The Coastal Administration wanted to demolish the Skalmen lighthouse in Smøla on Nordmøre
