Sawmills powered by water power were in operation from the Middle Ages and represented the first industrialization. Timber, planks and wood were for many hundreds of years some of the country's most important export items, with a heyday in the 17th century. From the end of the 1800s, paper, made from wood pulp, became an important export product.
The Norwegian forest industry currently produces 11 million cubic meters of timber annually (2021) and is the world's fourth largest exporter of sawn timber. One of today's challenges is to utilize more of the waste for CO2-neutral heating and the production of biofuel.
Norwegian mechanical industry produced machines and equipment for the sawmill and wood processing industry both in Norway and abroad. An important manufacturer of sawmill machinery was Myrens Verksted by Akerselva, established in 1848. Different types of turbines and saws such as frame saws and circular saws were built here, and entire factory facilities were designed. The exhibition shows frame saws and circular saws produced at Myrens.
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Recycled!
Recycling is important for the environment and is about reusing materials to make something new. Did you know, for example, that old T-shirts can be recycled into paper?
In the exhibition you will find a paper machine from 1930 that was used at the Alvøen Papirfabrikk in Bergen. It produced paper from wood pulp, but also textile fibers for extra quality paper used for documents and banknotes.
Every weekend we invite you to various activities at the museum. This is how you can learn about resource use in a practical and fun way.
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