FRUIT FARM AND HOLIDAY HOMES
Gard og hytter
the latest leg of a long journey
vines gård
Vines Gård is owned by Janneke Johansen and Eviann Amengual, and run by mother and daugther Janneke og Christel Johansen. All originally from Bergen, we bought the farm in the spring of 2018.
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Our goal is to provide a welcoming and relaxing environment for our guests. In addition we aim to be as self sufficient as possible on our mostly organic farm. Our focus on the farm is quality, efficiency and a low environmental impact.
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The farm has five cabins, four large family sized ones and one, smaller cabin.
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We have about 1100 organically grown plum trees, and around 700 cherry trees.
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We also grow our own vegetables, and have about 40 chickens and 20 ducks which provide pest and weed control as well as eggs and poultry. In addiotion we have freeranging pigs in the forest, a mix between wild boar and magalitsa (wool pig).
a little bit of history...
This area in Hardanger has long been a safe haven for humanity with the fertile remains from the glaciers that formed the fjords. In nearby Herand you can find remains of an ancient settlement "Sævarhelleren" dating back to 7000 B.C.
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Excavations in the area has uncovered coins from the Roman Age, and it is well known that the vikings favored spots such as our own little beach to launch their ships.
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One can imagine that as long as humans have been in Hardanger, they would have lived and farmed in Vines.
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The farm itself has a long history and can be traced back to 1621. At that time the farm was one unit together with the neighbor farm Kambestad. In the 1800's the farms were separated into two when two brothers inherited equally.
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The farm house will have been a traditional "smoke house" with a big common room with a central hearth. This burned down in 1895 when history tells us that a young child played with fire that got out of hand. It was rebuilt, and stands almost as it was then today. This house would have housed several generations of the farmers, as well as servants and farm hands.
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In addition to the farm house there was a smaller baking house which is still standing on the property. This would have been used to bake bread and store and smoke fish and meats.
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The original barn was almost identical to the one on the neighbor farm, but was dilapidated when it was replaced with a "modern" storage house in the 1980's.
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Today we have two houses on the property. The original farm house, plus a newer house, typically called "Kårboligen", which traditionally is the house or part of the house for the older generation to move into when the younger generation takes over the farm.
