Masfjordnes: Maritime History at Masfjorden

A fjord village with a maritime history

Masfjordnes, also called Sandnes, lies just inside the mouth of Masfjorden. The village combines maritime history with insights into church art and small-scale industry. If you want to do more than get to know the area on your trip and also discover its traditional working boats and former industries, you’ll find several different topics here. They range from maritime livelihoods to a historic building and exhibitions in former industrial facilities.

The Masfjorden båt- og sjøbrukssamling is housed in Nothuset in Sandnes, built around 1880. The collection showcases traditional working boats and equipment used in maritime livelihoods from across the municipality of Masfjorden. Its holdings include 10 to 11 original Masfjord boats, including a gable boat. So the focus is not only on the shape of individual boats: the equipment and maritime work they represent are also part of the collection. The maritime exhibition in Sandnes also includes boats and equipment used at sea. The Masfjord boat is considered unique to this area.

The Masfjorden båt- og sjøbrukssamling is listed as open on Sundays from 2 to 5 p.m. during the summer season, with guided tours available. This information can help you plan a visit. In summer, Nothuset also serves as a venue for concerts and other exhibitions.

Art and industrial history in Sandnes

Sandnes Church offers another cultural highlight. Its portal altarpiece was carved in the Neo-Baroque style in 1915: the sculptor Johnsen from Bergen based his work on designs by the architects Fürst in Oslo. The church has 370 seats and is automatically classified as a cultural heritage site dating from 1650 to 1850. For visitors interested in church art, this work complements the maritime focus of the collections with a different craft tradition.

Kvamsdals Fargeri in Sandnes offers another perspective. It tells the story of 60 years of small-scale industrial processing and preserves much of its original interior. This means the focus is not only on the product made, but also on the working environment in which it was processed. The former drying store of Kvamsdals Fargeri is now an exhibition and concert venue. Together with the seasonal events at Nothuset, this offers a range of cultural attractions during your stay.

Local food and choosing where to stay

For a break, consider Sandneskaféen in Sandnes, the municipal centre of Masfjorden. It serves homemade dishes made with local ingredients. After a visit focused on boats and maritime livelihoods, this is another way to experience the local character of the area. Culture, industrial history and local food appeal to different interests, so you don’t have to focus your stay on a single theme.

Skyss route 1019 connects Masfjordnes and Duesund; the crossing takes 10 minutes. This is a useful reference point if you are considering Masfjordnes as a holiday destination and want to include the crossing in your travel plans. When choosing a holiday apartment, your main interest might be the maritime collection, the history of the dye works or the local food. The topics described offer different points of interest, without needing to be combined into a single tour.

For more information about nearby places, see the pages for Haugsvær, Hosteland and Matre.

For the broader travel overview: Masfjorden.