Books on the pier, bookshelves at bus stops, book cafés, and even a book hotel! Not to mention all the second-hand shops full of books in different languages and exciting literary events and festivals. Book lovers everywhere should definitely head to Fjærland and Tvedestrand this summer!
What does the small fjord village of Fjærland, surrounded by dramatic glaciers and steep mountains on Norway's west coast, have in common with the charming southern town of Tvedestrand, with its traditional white wooden houses and rocky coast? Their reading material! On a hot summer day, few things are better than exploring their many excellent new and used bookshops looking for treasure.
“The joy of books, in books, and for books. When we open them, they open us.”
– Lars Saabye Christensen
Fjærland in Fjord Norway
The first of Norway’s two book towns saw the light of day in 1995. Mundal, the centre of the small village of Fjærland by the Sognefjord, is home to about four kilometres of books. Most are second-hand, and the dozens of outlets are also based on reuse – here you’ll find books in ferry waiting rooms, stables, banks, a former post office, and a grocery shop. The massive Tusund og ei natt is the only shop built specifically to house books, while the small outdoor shelf Sjølvplukk (pick-your-own book) calls itself “the country’s most honest bookstore” and trusts you to leave a small amount of money in a box for every book you take.
The Norwegian book town in Fjærland is open from May to September, but the online shops never close. Join a guided book tour of the town and attend its annual book festival in June.
There is plenty more to explore in the area, too. Visit the Norwegian Glacier Museum, join a guided glacier walk on Bøyabreen or Supphellebreen, kayak on the Fjærlandsfjord, and drive the Norwegian Scenic Route Gaularfjellet and enjoy the magnificent view from the Utsikten viewpoint.
Tvedestrand in Southern Norway
If you are travelling through Southern Norway, you should definitely stop by Tvedestrand, which calls itself “a gold mine for bookworms”.
“The joy of books, in books, and for books. When we open them, they open us”, Norwegian best-selling author Lars Saabye Christensen said in his speech at the opening of The book town by the Skagerrak strait. And the town offers more than just bookshops. Throughout the year you can join a variety of events, festivals, and guided tours related to books and literature.
At the end of the day, you can check into Norway’s first book hotel. Bokhotellet Lyngørporten is idyllically located in Gjeving by the Lyngørfjord. In her book Omelette Norvegienne, Danish writer Suzanne Brøgger writes: “We were booked in at Bokhotellet, where I am staying on page 303 with a white-painted balcony and a view of the archipelago. Why do people say that Norway is more about nature than culture?”
In addition to books, Tvedestrand also offers traditional white wooden houses set in narrow lanes, an abundance of islands, Norway’s largest outdoor water park, in Tjenna, Norway’s narrowest house, and several galleries and museums. It's also near the car-free paradise Lyngør, where you can enjoy the atmosphere of a bygone era.
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