Hyllestad: Stonecarving Culture and Pilgrim Routes

Hyllestad offers several ways to explore the region’s history: at the Kvernsteinsparken open-air museum, exhibitions in traditional grind buildings sit alongside signposted hiking trails. There is also an old church path, early medieval Celtic crosses and a location on the Coastal Pilgrim Route. If you want to choose between a museum, outdoor activities and historical traces during your stay, the area offers a range of starting points.

Kvernsteinsparken: Museum and Trails

Kvernsteinsparken in Hyllestad is an open-air museum operated by Musea i Sogn og Fjordane. Its exhibitions are housed in traditional grind buildings with different functions. This gives you the chance to encounter several buildings and uses, rather than just a single exhibition in one room. Family-friendly activities complement the offerings; you can choose which ones to focus on based on your interest in the historic buildings or spending time outdoors.

Visitors can follow the signposted hiking trails in Kvernsteinsparken year-round. The lower area is relatively flat and connected by gravel paths. Parts of the Steinhauer Trail and Storehuset are accessible to people with reduced mobility. This information applies to the areas named: if you want to plan your visit accordingly, you can distinguish between the trails in the lower section and the accessible sections of the Steinhauer Trail and Storehuset. There is a dedicated visitor car park right next to the museum entrance.

Church Path, Cemetery and Celtic Crosses

From Kvernsteinsparken, you can follow the old church path to Hyllestad’s old cemetery. Three Celtic crosses from the early Middle Ages stand at the corners of the cemetery wall. A fourth Celtic cross stone hangs in the present-day Hyllestad Church, built in 1880. Together, these places offer a tangible reason to explore Hyllestad’s religious and historical traces alongside the exhibitions.

Kvernsteinsparken is located on the Coastal Pilgrim Route. In the town centre, Hyllestad Rectory is open to pilgrims during the summer season. Travellers interested in pilgrim routes and church art can combine this focus with a visit to the old cemetery and the path from Kvernsteinsparken.

Quarry History and Arrival by Water

Stone has also shaped the municipality’s history: Hyllestad is home to Norway’s and Northern Europe’s largest quarry from the Viking Age and the Middle Ages. Alongside the exhibitions at Kvernsteinsparken, this gives visitors interested in this historical dimension another perspective on the stoneworking tradition of the town and municipality.

Nearby Rysjedalsvika is the closest boat landing. From there, a ferry runs to Rutledal and an express boat runs between Selje and Bergen. For travellers on the Coastal Pilgrim Route in their own boat, Hyllestad’s guest harbour is the nearest port. When choosing how to arrive, consider whether you will use a scheduled service or travel by your own boat.

When choosing your holiday apartment in Hyllestad, the focus of your trip can help guide you: Kvernsteinsparken combines exhibitions with hiking trails, while the church path, cemetery and crosses reveal the town’s historical and religious side. You can also include Leirvik I Sogn and Sørbøvågen among your options for more ideas about places to visit.

For the main travel overview: Hyllestad.