You cannot travel any further west in Norway and still be on solid ground. There are no longer any permanent residents on the island of Utvær, but there are always two people on duty at the lighthouse. To visit Utvær you have to travel by boat – either your own boat or with one of the local boat services – the choice is yours. There is a service available on request from Kolgrov all year round. In the summer season there is a scheduled service with departures from Hardbakke, Eivindvik and Korssund.
Preservation policy decisions
The County Governor of Sogn & Fjordane has decided to define Utvær as a nature reserve. This decision applies to the Utvær island group and surrounding sea. An exception is made for the island of Utvær itself and the sea immediately around it. The Norwegian Riksantikvar (preservation of Norwegian heritage) has made a proposal to preserve the lighthouse itself.
The chapel of St. Sunniva and Utvær
In the Middle Ages there was a chapel to the south of the existing settlement. It is somewhat uncertain when the chapel was built. The first written references to if appear in the work of Bjørgynar Kalveskinn from 1320. The chapel had an income from gifts and fishing tithes. In the 17th century the chapel owned 15 cows and 27 sheep that were rented out. Later on in the 17th century the chapel of Utvær was robbed by Scottish pirates.
The chapel was made of timber and was approximately 7.5m long and 6.3m wide, and it could seat a congregation of about 120. The chapel bell from 1641 is currently exhibited at the Heibergske Samlingar exhibition in Kaupanger. Four sermons a year were held in the chapel and the priest had to come by boat from Eivindvik. He was often stranded on the islands nearer the mainland as a result of bad weather. In 1718 the chapel was moved in to the island of Husøy. It was pulled down at the end of the 19th century when Straumen church was inaugurated.
Year of construction: 1900
Price: NOK 165,000
Opened: 15.09.1900
Lighthouse fire supplied by: Barbier, Paris
Installed:
18 metres above sea level
Height of tower: 31m
Reach: 32 km
Light flashing intervals: every 30 seconds
The war:
The lighthouse burned down in February 1945 during an allied air attack.
The lighthouse was reconstructed from 1948 – 1952. The lighthouse
itself took on a different form from previously and the "balcony" on
the top was one storey lower.