Places with a story
Ørnes gamle handelssted
Ørnes gamle handelssted preserves part of a coastal trading station that helped shape Meløy’s administrative centre. Three surviving buildings connect maritime commerce with local baking, metalwork and the district’s wartime history.
The place1
The trading station began with a licence granted to skipper Elling Pedersen in 1794. It originally comprised twelve to fourteen buildings; the main house, old bakery and smithy survive. These structures allow the site to be understood as a small working settlement rather than a merchant’s house alone.
History and local connections1
The buildings were protected in 1942. The trading station’s connections with a deep-water quay, shipping and land made available for local institutions help explain its role in the development of Ørnes. Nordland Museum now administers the municipally owned site, keeping its history within the town that grew around it.
What to look for1
Exhibitions in the main house trace the development of Meløy. The bakery also presents Operation Muskedunder, the Second World War raid against the industrial works at Glomfjord. Together, the buildings offer different scales of history: household and workshop life, the growth of a coastal centre, and an event with an international wartime context.
Planning a visit1
The museum is at Havneveien 13, near Ørnes’s harbour connections. Check Nordland Museum for seasonal opening or an advance-booked tour. Historic thresholds and narrow doors limit access, and the museum reports no accessible toilet. Contact staff about individual needs before visiting rather than assuming the old buildings provide modern step-free circulation.
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