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Lime kiln Flakka

The lime kiln that stands in Flakkavågen today was built by Elling Ingvaldson Skorpetveit and it was established in 1872. It is a coal-fired furnace. However, the lime burning itself started much earlier. The first registered lime delivery to Bergenhus castle was registered as early as in 1516/17 by Gunnar from Flakke. It is assumed that there was produced chalk at Flakka from the Middle Ages onwards, but the first furnace one was not mentioned until 1712, and then as "fallen down and probably useless". The existing lime kiln was in use until 1900/1901 - probably with around 8-10 people at work at most.

About lime, lime burning and the lime kiln in Flakkavågen

In the area around Flakkavågen (mf.) we have a natural resource that is the only one of its kind on Tysnes. Limestone and marble have been quarried here since the Middle Ages. From Varaldsøya out in the Hardangerfjord (Kvinnherad), over the east side of Tysnes all the way to Stord and further to the southernmost part of Bømlo, there is a limestone belt that was created in what we call the Cambrosilurian period, about 400-500 million years ago. The limestone and marble (transformed limestone) were created in a shallow sea where there were lots of small animals with limestone shells. As these animals died, their calcareous scale sank to the bottom. Over millions of years, other mountains came up, and limestone was pressed together and became solid rock.

It is the lime trade that allowed Flakka to emerge from the darkness of history for the first time. On most of the farms here, in the olden days, there was a lime kiln at use, a total of about 20 furnaces. The first recorded lime delivery from Flakka to Bergenhus Castle was recorded in 1516/17 by Gunnar from Flakka. There was probably chalk production on Flakka from the Middle Ages onwards, but the furnace is only first mentioned in 1712, and then as "fallen and probably useless". The land register of 1723 does not mention this magnificence at Flakka. 

In 1748 lime was collected in Flakkavågen by Elling and Lars Holmen for war commissioner Dahl at Fet in Omvikedalen. However, this need not have been burned in Flakka, but just as easily at one of the neighboring farms here. Flakka was not mentioned among the lime yards in the sheriff's reports 1846 - 66, so there may have been an interruption in this industry then.

In 1865, there were 9 lime quarries in the area which produced around 450 tons - approx. 900 tonnes annually. But then it was over. Wood had become sparce and thus too expensive.

In 1867 Elling Ingvaldson Skorpetveit came to Flakka. Short time later he built a coal-fired oven down by the sea at Flakka. The start-up is dated to around 1872. Coal (and some wood) and limestone were placed in layers from above in the bottle-shaped firebox made of refractory stone, and then lit from below. A brick draft system in the bottom provides good warmth.

Elling Skorpetveit was not alone about the chalk. When his brother Ingvald went bankrupt in Heio (Skorpo) in 1879, he owned a 1/7 share in a "lime distillery" in Flakka. They may thus have been seven owners of the lime furnace in the early days. Books were kept for "Flakkes Kalkverk" from 1875. "Flakke Kalkbrænderi" was the last lime furnace to be operated in the south of the Onarheim district and marked the end of an industry which in all probability went back to the Middle Ages.

When Elling I. Skorpetveit moved to Moster in 1880, Hans Møllerupsen Skaten bought Flakka, and together with his brothers Lars and Gjert at Skato and his brother-in-law Knut Skjelevikjo, they then became the owners of the furnace. 

There was a lot of stone both on Skorpo and on Sletteskog, and the four guys who took over from Elling, rented quarries along the beaches here at home, with several employees. Limestone was quarried in both places until after the last world war. With a jet that was called "Omnsjekto" they took the limestone to the furnace and the lime from there. With "Omnsjekto" they took loads of lime to Stavanger, to Sogn and sometimes all the way north to Trondheim. On the way home, they usually had some form of return cargo - often potatoes. It was Hans Flakka who navigated the jet.

The quicklime was stored in two lime vaults below the kiln. When limestone and coal were to go up into the community house, this was hoisted onto a gangway on the north side. We can still find marks from this gangway. In the "Hjulhuset" (wheel house) up on the "Hjulhaugen" (wheel heap), a guy named Ivar Jonson Hetlelid (locally renowned as Ivar Stølen) during all years had a regular job of turning the wheel on the gangway. Lars Skato was the one who ran the chalk burning, Hans Storsøyo, married to Siri Skato, kept the accounts and was responsible for selling the lime.

The lime kiln was in use until 1900/1901 - probably with around 8-10 vats working at most, at the end probably not every year. In 1901-1903, everything that could be traded was sold and the proceeds distributed among the 8 owners. The fireproof brick inside was sold one direction, equipment to another. The furnace house was sold to Solesvik on Hufterøya, and in a shed there one can still find the northern limestone arch. The other limestone arch is on the nearest farm in the south - today as a basement for a garage. The walls have stood untouched ever since - hidden and forgotten among trees and bushes. In 1992, Tysnes Kulturminnelag did a major job of clearing and some restoration. They then also put up the stairs, the tiling on top and the benches below.

 


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