– I am impressed by how good a condition it is in. Even the drainage still works, says Andreas Ledsaak. The farmer runs organic milk production on Ørlandet in Trøndelag. The Ledsaak family knew that there would be a bunker on the property. But it was only when Andreas and his wife Siw-Lindia started the groundwork to build a farm dairy that they discovered exactly what they had. Andreas Ledsaak and his four daughters are looking forward to starting up the farm dairy where they will sell organic milk. From left: Tora Kanutte, Erika, Ingrid and Ragnhild. Photo: Ingrid Lindgaard Stranden / news – There has always been an elevation in the landscape here. We started digging in the pile, and eventually we cleared everything out, says Andreas Ledsaak. Used to store rubbish The bunker turned out to be full of rubbish, among other things. Clearing it out meant digging with both machines, and a lot with a spade. But also not least many trips to the landfill. – There have been a lot of loads. More than we had imagined, says Ledsaak. The bunker was full of rubbish, and buried in the ground. After a major job of clearing it out, the bunker is now uncovered, next door to the new farm dairy. Photo: Ingrid Lindgaard Stranden / news The farm is located in an area called Skiftkrokan, approximately two kilometers from what is now the new combat aircraft base on Ørlandet. During the Second World War, the occupying power Germany had control over the area. When the war broke out, there was no air base on Ørlandet. But the Germans started the big job of building it up in 1941. In addition, many smaller defense facilities, including bunkers, were built to defend the air base and also help stop enemies from entering the Trondheimsfjord. Ledsaak’s farm is at the roundabout at the bottom left of this picture. The area has been important for the Germans to defend during the Second World War. The airbase is visible in the landscape in the background to the right, closer to the sea. Photo: Ingrid Lindgaard Stranden / news – This is a ten-man bunker. It was relatively common along the entire Norwegian coast, and this particular model was built from 1943 onwards, says author and historian Jan Egil Fjørtoft. Among other things, he has written the book “German coastal forts in Norway”. – Bunkers for twenty people were even more common. Then there was room for two teams, so to speak. But the bunker at Skiftkrokan is a bunker for diversion which was quite safe for the crew. They had gas protection and armored doors, among other things, says Fjørtoft. Piece of bloody war history Both the airstrip on Ørlandet, the fort on Austrått nearby and such bunkers as Ledsaak has in the garden, were built with the help of prisoners of war. – This bunker was probably built by Serbian prisoners of war, says Ledsaak. The bunker at Ledsaak is well intact. It was probably built for ten people, and is equipped with several rooms and very thick walls. 122 such bunkers were built in Norway. The slightly larger type for 20 men was approx. 450 pieces in Norway, of which several on the Orlandet Islands. Photo: Ingrid Lindgaard Stranden / news At Ørland cemetery stands a monument to 191 Russian and 65 Yugoslav prisoners of war who lost their lives in Ørland during the Second World War and who were buried in the cemetery. Exactly how many prisoners of war died in total during their stay on Ørlandet and with the forced labor they were put to is a bit unclear. But it is described in several books as a cruel life. The walls of the bunker are very thick and solid, and at the top there is an open machine gun emplacement. – When the Germans built, they had the construction management, and then they used the workforce they had access to. There could be both prisoners of war, convicts and also civilian Norwegian companies that were hired in addition. It could also have been Russian prisoners who were assigned to build this bunker, says Fjørtoft. Self-service dairy with its own bottling machine Ledsaak is currently most interested in getting started with the sale of organic milk. – We see that in order to have the same income in agriculture, we have to increase production every year. Instead of just growing all the time, we are now trying to sell milk directly from the farm, says Ledsaak. The farm has organic farming with dairy cows, and supplies organic milk to Tine. Now they are also trying to sell the milk directly from the small dairy that has been built up. The Gårdsmeiriet has its own department where the milk is pasteurized, and a retail section where people can come and draw milk themselves from a vending machine. It’s all based on trust. The World War II bunker is directly behind the building. Photo: Ingrid Lindgaard Stranden / news Milk is pasteurized in a separate department in the dairy, and has a separate sales department with a self-service bottling plant. A vending machine. – It is all unmanned and based on trust, says Ledsaak. He and his family hope they can be left with a little more income per liter of milk when they sell directly, than when everything has to go through intermediaries. – So far we have delivered a portion to the elderly center. We’re going on a short holiday trip first, then the sales section will open. In addition, we have to get the machine to speak Norwegian, and not just German, says Ledsaak. He has picked up the machine himself in Germany. – The less milk is handled, the better it tastes. In addition, it is not homogenized and it is fresher, says Ledsaak. The rumor about both the bunker and the dairy has spread. People have already visited the bunker. Ledsaak hopes the dairy will also become popular. – The interest before we opened has been very great, and we are excited, says Ledsaak.
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Andreas Ledsaak and his family found bunkers when they were going to build a dairy on Ørlandet – news Trøndelag
