Photo: Monrad-Krohn, Danckert·CC BY-SA 3.0· Wikimedia Commons
Islands / Færder / Store Færder
A historic island at the outer edge of the Oslofjord, where Norway's second-oldest lighthouse was lit in 1697, at first an open coal fire in an iron basket. The light moved to Tristein, as Færder fyr, in 1857. The ruins on the summit, 59 metres above sea level, were listed as a protected monument in 1997, and the island lies within Færder National Park.
A bare, high island at the outer edge of the Oslofjord, 1.6 nautical miles north of Færder fyr on Tristein. On the summit, 59 metres above the sea, stand the ruins of the old light, the one that worked here before the modern lighthouse took over. On the high ground stand the remains of one of the oldest lighthouse sites in Norway.
Færder National Park; the lighthouse ruin is a protected monument. The boundaries and the rules are in Naturbase, and they are worth checking before you land anywhere outside the marked areas.
Own boat or kayak.
No scheduled boat comes here. You will have to find the nearest public quay yourself, and the rest is your own boat or a kayak. Check the wind and wave forecast before you set out; the open stretches in the outer fjord turn unpleasant in a fresh breeze.
The light on Store Færder was lit in 1697, the second-oldest in Norway. It began as an open coal fire: an iron basket where coal was burned to show the way into the fjord. The station got through around 540 barrels of coal a year.
The state took over operation in 1799. A stone tower with a lamp was finished in 1802, and a paraffin lamp system followed in 1852. Store Færder marked the entrance to the Oslofjord and was an important seamark on the trading route between the Skagerrak and the Kattegat.
In 1857 the light moved to Tristein, where the new cast-iron tower, Færder fyr, had been completed. The coal fire on Store Færder was shut down. The ruins on the summit, 59 metres up, were listed as a protected monument in 1997, and the island has been part of Færder National Park since 2013.
The island is uninhabited. What draws people is the ruin of the old light and the view from the top, out where the fjord opens to the sea. Store Færder lies within Færder National Park and is a destination for boaters and kayakers.
You land by your own boat or kayak; there is no ferry and no quay to count on. Landing needs calm water, since the island is exposed and the sea builds quickly. Protection: Store Færder lies within Færder National Park, established 23 August 2013, and the lighthouse ruin has been a protected monument since 1997, so leave the stones where they are. Seabird reserves in the area are closed to access from 15 April to 15 July. Check Naturbase, the national database of protected areas, for current zones before you land.
The 1697 light was an open coal fire that burned through some 540 barrels a year. Someone had to keep it going all night, at the outer edge of the fjord, right through the winter.
Store Færder was the second-oldest lighthouse in Norway. When the new tower on Tristein was finished in 1857, the name Færder went with it, and the old island was left with the ruins.
The ruins on the summit have been protected since 1997, 160 years after the fire went out.
Oslo Sea Experience passes Store Færder on its private fjord trips from Tjuvholmen.
The Norwegian version notes which facts were taken from each source: Store Færder på norsk.