Utstein

The ultimate origin of the name ‘Utstein’® comes from a small skerry west of Klosterøy, or Monastery Island. This is where you will find Utstein Gard (farm) and Utstein Kloster (monastery). Utstein is a protected historical cultural environment which holds special national value due to the cultural-historical elements, the landscape and the agricultural elements that give the area its distinctive character.

THE STONE AGE

The islands of Ryfylke were among the first land areas in Norway where the ice receded more than 12,000 years ago. The sea level at the time was 15-30 metres higher than today. Some of the oldest traces of humans were discovered at Galta on the island of Rennesøy, close to Utstein. Large amounts of flint chips have been found, a tell-tale sign that humans lived here. They were most likely hunter-gatherers who moved across large areas to procure food. Agriculture came to Norway around 4,500 years ago. Hoes, sickles and other Stone Age agricultural tools have been discovered at both Utstein and Fjøløy. Archaeological surveys have revealed branches and birch bark that have been dated at 2,800 BC, approximately when farming made its breakthrough here. The proximity to the ocean and the Gulf Stream must have made it possible to keep domesticated animals outside almost the entire year, even at that time.

THE BRONZE AGE AND the early IRON AGE

A labyrinth has been discovered at Preste, just below Bakkhodnet, on the east side of Utstein. The ceramics discovered among the rocks have been dated to the Younger Roman Period, approx. 2-400 years AD. From edge to edge, the long side of the labyrinth measures over 150 metres. It could be a form of religious shrine, perhaps used for fertility rituals. This stone-laying harkens back to when chieftains wielded power at Utstein. The complex covers an area of several hundred square metres, covered in somewhat thick layers of stone. This indicates work over time and with a plan. Those who worked on the masonry most likely weren't also working in agriculture, which indicates the presence of a landlord with a lot of people at work. More than 170 burial mounds have been registered at Utstein and Fjøløy, and many of these historical monuments are still untouched. Most of them date back to the Younger Roman and Migration periods (approx. 300-600 AD). 120 of the mounds are located at Preste with a view of the Mastrafjord. They could be traces of a major battle. The labyrinth and burial ground bear witness of the time when Utstein was the seat of a chieftain who ruled over vast resources and a military organisation. The soil at Utstein is well-cultivated, and has good natural drainage. At Utstein and Fjøløy, archaeologists have registered traces of no fewer than eight Iron Age farms. Bronze cauldrons from the Roman Period have been discovered at Utstein, as well as slag particles from prehistoric iron production.

the iron age and The Viking Age

Utstein appears in historical sources as a royal estate as early as in the 800s. The place is mentioned in Snorre’s saga about the Viking king Harald Fairhair; in the Old Norse poem Haraldskvadet as told by Torbjørn Hornkløve: “Dei freista den framdjerve, han som flugt deim lærde, herren yvi austmenn, som bur paa Utstein”, which roughly translates as “Their strength would they try, but he taught them to flee, the lord of the Eastmen who at Utstein dwells”. Historians tend to believe that Western Norway was the starting point for the unification of Norway, dating back to 872. Utstein is highlighted here as the only royal estate in Western Norway that can lay credible claim to being the residence of Harald before the great battle in Hafrsfjord. Snorre also recounts that Utstein was one of the royal estates where King Harald resided when he grew old.

Utstein provided a good vantage point to monitor the sailing route along the Norwegian coast. Boats could be launched on short notice, and the chieftain at Utstein could tax travellers, trade with them or raid them.

It’s said that the old stone bridge over the Finnasand channel out toward Utstein is one of the oldest anywhere in the country. The ancient name of the bridge was Gjallar Bridge, which is taken from Norse mythology. Legend has it that the old bridge dates back to the Middle Ages; some sources even say it was built by Harald Fairhair during the Viking Age, but no one knows for certain. One of the factors that point toward this is the unusual height over the water level. Therefore, because of the uplift of the land, this old bridge could be more than a thousand years old. The old bridge is replaced by a more modern bridge now.

Utstein marks the location where the political leader in this region Erling Skjalgson was taken by surprise by King Olav Haraldsson – Saint Olav - “in the strait south of Utstein” in 1028. A few years later, in 1033, there was a naval battle at a “rock outcropping north of Utstein” where King Olav Trygvason’s son Trygve, met his fate.

Middle Ages, Reformation and Danish rule

Most believe that the actual monastery was built around 1257, but some sources claim that work started on some monastery buildings as early as 1157. This due to the fact that the baptismal font in the church is dated to the 10th century and must have been made on site. Magnus the Law-mender Håkonsson received Rygjafylket as a fiefdom in 1257. He was crowned king in 1261 and it is said that he started building the monastery buildings before he moved to Bergen to act as King of Norway from 1263/1264, upon his fathers death at the Orkney Islands. At that time, the monastery was taken over by Augustinian monks. They came from France, England and Denmark, and used Latin as their language. They were scholars, as well as practicing physicians. There were a number of conflicts surrounding the monastery leading up to the Reformation in 1536-37, including the power struggle between Abbot Eirik at Utstein and Bishop Eirik in Stavanger, as well as Abbot Henrik and Bishop Hoskuld, who was the last Catholic bishop in Stavanger. The disputes escalated to armed conflict, and Abbot Henrik was taken prisoner at Kongsgård estate in Stavanger, where he was held for a hundred days.

During the years of Danish rule, Utstein was at times ravaged, and plagued by pirates. Christoffer Trondsson Rustung (1500-1565) was a Norwegian admiral, a feudal overlord in Norway and Denmark, a privateer captain, and a pirate. He pillaged the monastery in 1539 and set it on fire.

It is said that the Earl of Bothwell sought shelter at Utstein in his day. Rustung’s daughter Anna accompanied him from Utstein to the Continent, where he ended up leaving her to pursue Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots, whom he later married.

Barbro Bjelland, who was burned at the stake in Stavanger as a witch, had also spent time at Utstein to help the wife of a tax collector recover from an illness.

Throughout all these years, the buildings and the area have been used in all sorts of ways, and have been both the seat for chiefdoms, a royal estate, a monastery, a manor home, a family farm, and a museum. The monastery has periodically been a seat of power and at one time it ruled over huge farm areas on the south west coast of Norway. In 1640, the monastery exerted its influence over properties from Sokndal in the south to Skånevik, Sveio and Vikebygd in the north. Its sphere also included properties in Hå, Time, Klepp, Sola, Randaberg, Sandnes, Stavanger (Madla), Rennesøy, Finnøy, Forsand, Strand, Hjelmeland, Suldal, Sauda, Tysvær, Vindafjord, Karmøy and Haugesund. As many as 139 farms were gathered under Utstein back then, in addition to their properties in Stavanger.

The schoolteacher Marcille Riiberg lived at the monastery from 1725 until after 1758. In 1751, she purchased the churches in Jelsa and Sand, and in 1755 she established “den Riibergske Stiftelse” (the Riiberg foundation) which posted teachers throughout the Ryfylke region for more than 40 years.

From 1755 to 1760, physician, botanist and economist Georg Christian Oeder (1727–1791) travelled around Norway to gather plants for his botany atlas “Flora Danica”. He described operations at Utstein Farm in 1758 as outstanding. A total of four of the plants on the famous dinner set are based on illustrations from Utstein.

Author Sigrid Undset, who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1928, lived at Utstein monastery before the war, in 1939. She visited architect Gerhard Fischer and came here to follow his work on the archeological excavations of the monastery.

The author Alfred Hauge (1915-1986) from the Sjernarøy islands had a close relationship with Utstein, and wrote several novels and collections of poems based on the area, known as the Utstein literary cycle. He also wrote the trilogy of novels about Cleng Peerson, which were about the sloop Restauration and emigration to the United States. The replica of Restauration is docked at the nearby island Mosterøy. 

Several artists have also been inspired by Utstein. Lars Hertervig (1830-1902) apparently painted an oil painting using Utstein Monastery and the surrounding landscape as a motif. This is most likely from the artist’s first years. The local artist Svein Magnus Håvarstein also has multiple motifs from the monastery, the cultural landscape and people from the island.

The family farm

The Frimann/Garmann family took over ownership of the Utstein estate in 1700. The church was in the family from 1724 until it was transferred to the State in 1899. The rest of the monastery buildings, which up until then functioned as a farmhouse on the estate, were transferred to the Rennesøybanken trust in 1933. The Committee for the preservation of Utstein Monastery acquired the monastery buildings and the garden around 1935, and this later became Stiftelsen Utstein Kloster (foundation) (from 1953). According to Jan H Lexow, these buildings are better preserved than any of the other Norwegian monasteries. “This is because the buildings have been in use”, he writes (1961). He goes on to say that, “By bringing life and the living into these venerable buildings, we can nourish the hope of preserving Utstein Monastery for our descendants.” The monastery was renovated in the 1960s and officially reopened by King Olav V in 1965. Today, the monastery is operated by Museum Stavanger. It is currently the only fully preserved medieval monastery in Norway, and is a fully functioning museum, banquet facility and summer hotel.

Utstein Gard manages large parts of the Utstein cultural environment, and makes up the lovely cultural landscape around the actual monastery. The farmers of today are Inger Lise and Anders Schanche Rettedal and their son, Johan Christopher.