Walks around Drøbak: «Bathing huts and artists»

TOUR NO. 2: «Bathing huts and artists»

Time: Approx. 1 hour

From the Tourist Information Office (1), where the Aquarium are also located, we walk out along the ‘A’ breakwater, Molo A for a fine view of the Oslo fjord. From this point we can watch the large passenger ferries and the cruise vessels on their way in and out of Oslo. On the left, as we step out onto the breakwater we pass a bronze statue of three very attractive mermaids, a work by the local painter and sculptor Reidar Finsrud. When returning along the breakwater we see immediately ahead of us a collection of small houses surrounding the small strip of coast that many years ago was used for fishing boats (1750 – 1850). We turn right and continue south along Havnegata.

The large open space behind the Tourist Information Office has been the site of business activity for many hundreds of years. In the 1700s the property belonged to the Carlsen family and was used as a loading jetty for the export of timber to Holland, England and other European countries. Subsequently, it was used as a yard for the sale and export of timber, coal and coke, and, later still, it became a large sand depot. Until 1974 there was a three-story-high shed on the jetty.

Further south, the street names change from Havnegaten to Badehusgaten (20). This is where the bathing hut, which gave the street its name, was situated. It belonged to a Mr Larsen many years ago. The street, with its tiny picturesque houses, leads us past wooden buildings from the 1800s. A couple of less fortunate projects have been allowed to be built but, all in all, the old atmosphere remains unchanged. No. 23 has retained much of its original style. No. 18 and No. 25 have been reconstructed in their original style without much change. The large red house, No. 28 on the corner where the Badehusgatan meets Hamborgveien, is worth a closer look. This is a very old house with much of its original form still intact.

The jetty to the right was previously both a cargo jetty and a passenger jetty for the old steam-powered passenger ships that docked at this jetty called, Hamborgs brygge (21). Here, there are very few of the old buildings left, but as compensation we have the ‘Guest Jetty’ with its pleasant restaurant and meeting places along the water’s edge. The Hamborg name is also given to the house and the street. The group of small houses to the left is known as «Filisterkroken» the origin of the name is unknown (22).

Along the coast, to the south, is the old Customs Building, which today belongs to the University of Oslo (23). In years past, the Customs Building was at Sand on the opposite side of the fjord. As Drøbak achieved more importance the Customs and Excise offices were transferred across to the town sometime in the early 1700s. Drøbak Customs Office was very important particularly at the time of the prohibition of alcohol (1916 – 1926) when smuggling led to much dramatic activity on the fjord.

We take a sharp left turn at Storgata 42 and walk up Tollbodbakken and turn right. Here, between No. 8 and No. 3, is the beginning of the town’s narrowest thoroughfare, Christian Krohgs vei (24). In some places the walls of the houses are so close to each other that by stretching out both hands it is possible to touch them. This lane is called «Bråtan» and many artists have strolled along here. Anton Thoresens vei is named after Drøbak’s own much-admired local painter (25) he lived in No. 3. Where No. 7 towers above the other houses Wilhelm Otto Peters lived (26). We walk down Petersbakken and turn left into Jørnsebakken by No. 16, and then continue up the hill. Here we reach the original town boundaries where Jørnsebakken merges into Vestbyveien and gradually levels out. We continue until we reach No. 47, a restored house in Swiss Chalet style (27). Before we turn off to the right, down Wilhelmsbakken, continue 200 metres along Vestbyveien and take a look at «Maurbakken» No. 54 (Anthill) with its bay windows and small garden pavilion. The Norwegian writer, Knut Hamsun built this house in 1905 (28).

Some distance to the south are the lovely bathing beaches and public areas of Torkildstranda and Skiphellebukta. However, our tour takes us down Wilhelmsbakken to Johanne Dybwads vei. The low house, to the left at the road junction, belonged to the painter Edvard Diriks (29). (Originally the house was a fisherman’s cottage with 2 small rooms; and it was here that Peder Klausen, a fisherman, lived with his wife and their 9 children.) Diriks spent half the year in this house and the rest of his time in Paris. In 1903 Gunnar Heiberg sat at a desk in one of the rooms and wrote his masterpiece, «Kjærlighetens Tragedie» (The Tragedy of Love). Olaf Gulbransson, well known for his sketches and drawings, traced silhouettes of members of Diriks family here on the walls of the lounge.

Where Johanne Dybwads vei ends is the large property that belonged to the painter Ludvig Skramstad 30. At the bottom of Wilhelmsbakken is Sprostranda, a lovely family bathing beach (31). We continue to walk north along idyllic Strandveien passing No. 3, which was previously called Obstfelders house (32).
We arrive back at Jørnsebakken, to the left, at the junction, is the house and studio of the painter Olaf Holwech (33). Below Holwech’s garden is the pilot station, which for many summers is where the painter Christian Krohg lived. He used many people from Drøbak as models for his paintings, among others, the pilot in the painting «Grumset farvann» (Dangerous waters) (34). The long, ochre-coloured house at the bottom of Jørnsebakken, on the right, No. 2, dates from the 1700s and is worth a second look (35).

We have now returned to Storgata. In this road we find the Reenskaug Hotel (36). When we arrive at No. 24, we turn off to the right into Tranga (meaning narrow) – a narrow lane.
Some way up the lane we pass the town’s earliest fire station (37), which still has the tower used for the drying of fire hoses. (No. 3) The long building behind the tower (Damveien 6) was once used as Drøbak’s overflow prison (38). The prison was known for being easy to break out of, to the great pleasure of the Oslo newspapers. Tranga eventually ends up in Osloveien. Here we turn left and walk down the hill to the market square and continue back to the harbour (1).