Lauvåsen's History

Lauvåsen has a rich and interesting history, which you can still sense. The merchant and publisher Johan Sørensen wanted to help towns’ people with their breathing problems and to assist in restoring their health. To this end, in 1898, he built Langleiken, a dining room, a hall with a fireplace, a pavilion, and six cottages for rent. The cottages and Langleiken are still here.

Johan Sørensen was a good friend of the charismatic writer Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson and did a great job with his ‘Library for the Thousand Homes’, together with his translations of world literature at very affordable prices. It was he who first published the works of Charles Darwin in Norwegian, and several of his old books can still be found here on the shelves at Tiurleiken.

The first hunting competition with setters was organised at Lauvåsen in 1899. In 1933 Scandinavia’s largest hunting competition was also held here, with 130 hunters and 160 dogs.

From 1928 until 1968, Lauvåsen was used as a high mountain hotel, run by Signe Jøndal. In the 1970s it was sold to Even Dahl who put in electricity and running water, restored the cottages and, in 1987, built the new cafeteria. Then after ten years of not being used for anything in particular, we reopened Lauvåsen in the year 2000. And so the story continues with new chapters being written all the time.