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Viga museum farm
Viga, a gem of a museum farm, has exceptionally high cultural and historical value. We believe that it was settled at least a couple of thousand years ago. There are numerous burial mounds on this site with finds dated to the Viking Age. Written sources on the farm reach back to the 1500s.
The farmyard looks today as it did in 1821 with a main dwelling house that includes a chimneyless room (“smoke-cottage”) dated to the 1600s, a summer kitchen, a storehouse, a barn and a smaller dwelling house named Sissel Cottage.
Viga, one of the largest farms in Hjelmeland, employed many servants. The basis for operations here was arable farming and animal husbandry, although fruit was also raised. In 1990, Ryfylkemuseet established a historic orchard at Viga containing over 100 fruit trees representing traditional sorts of apples, pears and plums native to Ryfylke.
Viga was vacated in 1955 and then taken over as a museum farm in 1970. The former owner left a substantial part of the original furnishings and equipment in the buildings. It is thus possible to reconstruct the daily life of those who lived here, which gives an authentic idea of their lifestyle, farming activities and working methods.