Discover Skedsmokorset: Church and History

Skedsmokorset offers several distinctive ways to explore the area’s history: Skedsmo Church, with its long architectural history and artworks from different centuries, and the Skedsmo Bygdemuseum, which tells the story of the Huseby farm. Archaeological traces and a project on cultural heritage walking trails are also among the topics that make the area interesting for curious travellers. So if you are looking for a holiday rental in Skedsmokorset, you can consider whether church art, farm history and insights into the area’s long history of settlement match your holiday interests.

Skedsmo Church and its artworks

Skedsmo Church was completed around 1180 as a Romanesque long church and was dedicated to Saint Olav from the outset. Exterior walls around 130–140 cm thick survive from the old church. Visitors interested in religious architecture will find not only a long building history here, but also artworks from later periods.

The pulpit dates from 1578, is considered one of the oldest in Norway, and was created by Knud and Rasmus Hansen in the High Renaissance style. The altarpiece was made in 1693 in the woodcarving workshop of Christopher Henrichssøn Ridder. Birch and pine were used to make it. The same workshop also created the altarpiece in Oslo Cathedral. The pulpit and altarpiece thus offer different perspectives on the church’s design: the High Renaissance pulpit from the 16th century on the one hand, and the carved altarpiece from the late 17th century on the other. Guided tours of Skedsmo Church can be arranged by prior agreement.

Huseby at the Skedsmo Bygdemuseum

The Skedsmo Bygdemuseum tells the story of Huseby farm, which changed from a prosperous rectory into a poor farm. This development gives local history a concrete context: rather than simply looking at a sequence of old dates, visitors can learn about the changing role of a farm. Archaeological excavations at Huseby uncovered traces of human settlement dating back 4,000 years. At the same time, the site has been continuously inhabited for at least 2,000 years. These two facts describe different aspects of the distant past: discovered traces of settlement and the duration of continuous habitation.

At the Nebben sawmill manager’s house, visitors can step inside the home of the sawmill manager’s family from Strømmen. The museum’s other buildings host changing exhibitions on the history of Skedsmo. This offers both a specific glimpse into a family’s former home and a range of changing historical subjects. The Skedsmo Bygdemuseum café serves waffles, coffee, tea and juice during museum opening hours.

Cultural history on the move and in the surrounding area

The “Turstier på Skedsmokorset” project ran from 2023 to 2025. It was led by Skedsmo Kulturforum together with, among others, Skedsmo Historielag and Huseby Gårds venner, with support from the Lillestrøm Municipality Volunteer Fund. The project developed, marked and promoted walking trails on Skedsmokorset, with a focus on history and cultural heritage. The timeframe is important: this was a project from 2023–2025, not a statement about a future event date.

Nearby, in Berger, northeast of Skedsmokorset’s built-up area, is Norway’s only geopark. The surrounding area therefore brings together themes from local history and geology. If you are choosing a holiday destination mainly for church art and farm history, you can compare these highlights with your own travel interests; the geopark offers a separate point of interest for other excursions. You can start your holiday rental search by focusing on the experiences you want, without implying any particular amenities or routes between locations.

The different time perspectives offer families a starting point for conversation: the 4,000-year-old finds at Huseby and the at least 2,000 years of continuous settlement do not tell the same story, but shed light on different aspects of the past. At the church, too, visitors can distinguish between the building’s history and artworks from several centuries. If you would like to compare other destinations for your travel plans, you can also find Skjetten, Leirsund and Lillestrøm here.

For the main travel overview: Skedsmo.