Located along the shoreline of Mjøsa—Norway’s largest lake—Hoel Gård is a quaint county retreat celebrated for its bucolic charm and warm hospitality. This fantastic location is also incredibly historic, consisting of a 1,600-acre estate that harkens back centuries. Indeed, some of the earliest first-hand accounts of the Hoel Gård date to the Middle Ages, although other historical evidence has suggested that farming may have occurred on-site as early as the 6th century. One of the largest in Eastern Norway, the estate was once owned by influential noble families like the Juels and the Gyldenhavs. Among the greatest owners at the time were the Østbys, who claimed direct lineage to King Haakon V Magnusson. Nevertheless, a scion of the Gyldenhav family eventually decided to sell the complex to a local sheriff named Halvor Torgersen Vestad during the late 17th century. Torgersen would then live at the estate until his death in 1691. His descendants, the Hoel family, would proceed to manage the facility for the better part of the next two centuries. Influential businesspeople and politicians, the Hoels significantly renovated the estate throughout the 1700s. In fact, they were responsible for developing the structures that now constitute the Hoel Gård today! (A few sources state that the first building the Hoels built specifically debuted in 1719.) Soon enough, the Hoels became synonymous with the farm. Indeed, countless locals even took to calling the location the “Hoel Gård,” meaning “Hoel Farm.”  

One of the most noteworthy members of the Hoel family to own the Hoel Gård was Halvor Hoel, who began operating it in 1780. Entrepreneurial and eccentric, he treated the estate more as a proprietor rather than a conventional farmer. But despite his demeanor, Halvor nonetheless oversaw some of the most significant changes to affect the Hoel Gård during its history. For instance, his tenure saw the considerable expansion of the estate’s primary campus, as well as the acquisition of a substantial herd of livestock. He also earned praise for his management of the farm, winning several medals in acknowledgement of his efficient farming methods. However, Halvor’s time presiding over Hoel Gård was far from uneventful. In 1818, Halvor Hoel and his brother, Jacob, emerged as major instigators amid a series of uprisings that proliferated across Easter Norway in response to an unpopular silver tax. (Jacob Hoel himself lived just a short distance from Hoel Gård on the island of Helgøya in the Mjøsa.) Upset at the policy’s deflationary effects, they fomented discontent by issuing public edicts denouncing the Storting, Norway’s national legislature. Their words galvanized hundreds of farmers to march down to the national capital in protest, although neither Halvor nor Jacob were directly involved. (Contemporary historians have occasionally referred to the incident as the “Hoel Peasant Revolt.”) 

Having called the estate home for years, the Hoel family finally vacated the premises permanently in 1867. The Hoel Gård subsequently passed among various owners, including the prominent Kristiana-based industrialist Peter Wessel Wind Kildal. (Kildal himself would institute many additional changes to the Hoel Gård, specifically converting several of the buildings into makeshift potato factories!) Then in 1932, the ambitious Eilif Sandberg bought the historic Hoel Gård from municipal officials. He quickly set about conducting his own series of renovations, which transformed the site into a modern farm. Eilif’s descendants eventually took over decades later and greatly enhanced the Hoel Gård’s economic activities. Perhaps their finest achievement was the debut of a boutique hotel within the compound during the early 1990s. The Sandberg family still look after the Hoel Gård today, which is now in its fourth generation of ownership. Under their guidance, Hoel Gård has since emerged as one of Eastern Norway’s best holiday destinations. This terrific hotel currently offers 37 radiant guestrooms and suites that are all distinctively designed to immerse guests deeply in the area’s verdant landscape. Unique Norwegian culinary experiences are also available to enjoy, as well as a wonderfully restored 19th-century ballroom and sprawling terraced garden. Weddings in particular have become an immensely popular occasion, as many couples have come to adore the hotel’s intimate, pastoral setting.  

Norwegian vernacular building themes—referred to colloquially as “byggeskikk”—specifically drew inspiration from generational construction techniques that harkened back centuries. Until the onset of the 20th century, most structures throughout Norway were agricultural in nature. They typically resided deep in the wilderness and made use of whatever resources were available. Norwegian families thus developed hardy log cabins that were tightly latched together with corner notches to protect against the elements. Those houses also featured rustic architectural designs inside, including open-hearth fireplaces and stone chimneys. However, a few communal structures spawned more eloquent designs, such as the iconic medieval “stave church.” Stave churches were typically designed using a type of wooden timber framing known as “post and lintel” construction, in which widely spaced vertical posts supported horizontal ones. Steeply pitched roofs reinforced by several intricately laid beams further characterized the overall design of the stave churches. Prominent dormers and steeple towers occasionally crowned the structures, too, in a manner reminiscent of more conventional Romanesque-style churches seen elsewhere throughout Europe. Great portals even guided visitors into the interior, which instilled a sense of awe with a variety of rich ornamentation connected to Norse iconography and the local alpine landscape. Some of the symbols employed drew upon ancient motifs centered around dragons and serpents. (Perhaps the greatest example of a surviving Norwegian stave church is the UNESCO-recognized Urnes Stave Church.)