For years, Tor Wennberg and Bjørnøy Lighthouse’s friends worked to preserve the lighthouse and the island as a cultural monument. The wish was to make the area available for public use. It didn’t turn out that way. In 2018, the association Bjørnøy Fyrs venner was closed down. news has previously written about “island shopping” becoming increasingly popular. Now Bjørnøya with Bjørnøy Lighthouse in Bodø municipality is also for sale. The Norwegian Environment Agency sells the lighthouse. Many have already expressed their interest. – Here we can create paradise – I’m a guy, says Wenneberg proudly. – It therefore hurts me very much that it has now been put up for sale. Tor Wennberg working on one of the boathouses at Bjørnøy lighthouse. Now the firebrand must see that the lighthouse where he has put in countless hours of service is being sold to private parties. Photo: Øystein Nygård / news Wenneberg has spent much of his childhood and adult life at Bjørnøy lighthouse. So when Bodø municipality wanted to create a public meeting place, he eagerly got involved. – The first time I was there, I thought: Here we can create a paradise, he says. The lighthouse station outside Bodø was established as a beacon in 1890, and was closed down and unmanned in 1972, according to SNL. Bjørnøy lighthouse is located east of Landegode in Bodø municipality. The lighthouse station was established as a beacon in 1890, and was closed down and unmanned in 1972. The tower is nine meters high. Photo: Riksarkivet/Wikipedia The lighthouse was the fourth lighthouse to be built outside Bodø, and it was built to mark the inner link towards the Vestfjorden. The lighthouse keeper’s home was built for one lighthouse keeper and his family. In 2006, the Norwegian Environment Agency took over the property, and then Environment Minister Helen Bjørnøy (SV) opened the lighthouse to outdoor enthusiasts, by turning it into an outdoor lighthouse. Bodø municipality was given responsibility for operation and supervision. Bjørnøy Lighthouse is located outside Landegode in Bodø municipality. – We should be paid. Many voluntary working hours were put into the renovation of the property’s buildings and outdoor area. Wennberg helped refurbish the boathouse, prepare the kitchen and put water in all the taps. – We were ready to put in a shower cubicle and build a toilet, but it never came to fruition. – I think back to everything we have done on charity. We should almost be paid for the effort we put in. Wennberg hopes the buyer wants to preserve the cultural heritage and open the lighthouse to the public. Norwegian lighthouse stations According to the Norwegian Lighthouse Historical Association, the Coastal Administration owns 119 lighthouse stations, most of which are operational. 13 of these are partly owned by other bodies, mainly municipalities and counties. 44 lighthouse is privately owned. Mainly, we are talking about municipalities, counties or various organizations and associations. Most are available to the public, but 18 of the 44 are purely privately owned. In addition to those mentioned, the Port of Oslo owns 3 pier stations. – Takes away a lot of history Board chair Henriette Marie Skjæveland of the Norwegian Lighthouse History Association is skeptical of lighthouses being privatized. Photo: The shipping limited company Hesvik Foreningen was founded to preserve pier stations as cultural monuments. According to Skjæveland, buildings and outdoor areas change when private actors take over historic lighthouses. – You take away a lot of history when you sell it. It destroys cultural heritage, the chairman believes. Of the previously sold lighthouses, some are open to visitors, but several are also closed off and only accessible to the private owners. Bjørnøy light station was established in 1890. In 1972 it was closed down and replaced with an unmanned lighthouse. Photo: Øystein Nygård / news – The Coastal Administration and the State have a maintenance backlog that is sky-high. We work to raise money to maintain buildings. Although Skjæveland is against the privatization of cultural monuments, she thinks it is good if the private actors open the areas to the public. However, she is skeptical about what happens to the guys in the future. – What about when they are inherited by children and grandchildren? Then we have no guarantee that it will still be for public use. Keeps the fire open all year round Someone who has experience with the problem is Ellen Marie Hansteensen. In 2006, Ellen Marie Hansteensen took over Litløy fire in Vesterålen. She keeps the lighthouse open to the public all year round. Photo: Dan Henrik Klausen In 2006 she took over Litløy lighthouse in Vesterålen. She had been looking for a place to start her guest house project for a long time. She was able to buy the lighthouse on a project that would make it available to the general public, as the law describes. It consisted of a guest house that was to be open all year round with a cultural content. Hansteensen sees the danger that it could end up in the hands of someone who does not want to keep the place open. – If I sell the property, it is not registered that it must be in the public interest, but I am building something that I want to continue. She believes that the safeguarding of lighthouses is neither ensured by private nor state ownership. – The State and the Norwegian Coastal Administration lack money, or prioritize many other things over fire, and that is largely the reason why they are selling it, says Hansteensen. According to the lighthouse owner, Litløy lighthouse is one of the few lighthouses in Norway that is open all year round to everyone. – It is important to remember that neither private nor state ownership is any guarantee that the lighthouses will be open to the public. – Private owners can be zealous and work for an idealistic goal such as making the lighthouses available. It is not exactly a characteristic of the State. Private owners often have a bit more freedom of action than private individuals or organizations that rent from the Coastal Administration, adds Hansteensen. – Wide range of stakeholders There has been a lot of interest in the property so far, states estate agent Georg Rånes Paulsen from Privatmegleren. Estate agent Georg Rånes Paulsen from Privatmegleren. Photo: Privatmegleren Bodø – We have been contacted by everything from foreign actors, to both national and local ones. Pulsen says that those interested have different ideas about what the property will be used for. The ideas include everything from settlement on the island to commercial activities. In addition, there are some who want to use it as a cabin or holiday home. – What reactions have you had to the sale? – There will always be local forces who believe that such areas should be kept in public ownership, but this has been the case for a long time and it has been little used by the general public. – Is Bjørnøya sold with a clause that it is accessible to the public? – Yes. There is a registered lien on the property regarding it. Rare property The property stands out from Paulsen’s usual objects for sale. – It is very rare that we sell island properties in general. According to the estate agent, the advertisement has received over 34,000 page views, which is far above normal. In addition, 747 has downloaded the prospectus. 90 people are considering going to the screening. That says something about how popular such properties can be. Paulsen is absolutely certain that it will be sold. – Perhaps the pandemic has caused people to start thinking differently. They want their own island paradise, where they can be at peace.
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– It hurts a lot – news Nordland
