Photo: Helge Høifødt·CC BY-SA 3.0· Wikimedia Commons
Islands / Oslo / Store Herbern
A small islet of about 1.3 hectares (13 dekar) southeast of Bygdøy, under 5 metres high and separated from Bygdøy by a very shallow sound. The whole islet is a nature reserve, established to preserve untouched ground with varied shore vegetation and several rare species.
Store Herbern is the low, pine-covered islet southeast of Bygdøy, right beside Lille Herbern with its restaurant. It rises less than five metres above the water, and a very shallow sound separates it from Bygdøy. There are no buildings and no quay, only shore vegetation. The whole islet is protected, so this is one to look at rather than land on.
Store Herbern nature reserve. 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.
Store Herbern is around 1.3 hectares, one of the lower islets of the inner fjord. It is protected as Store Herbern nature reserve, with the purpose of preserving an almost untouched natural area. It has a wide range of shore vegetation and several rare species, because it is small, low and was never built on.
Store Herbern is a nature reserve and little else. Lille Herbern next door has a summer restaurant and ferry traffic, while Store Herbern lies untouched alongside. One serves food on the bare rock; the other is protected shore meadow.
You get close by your own boat or kayak, but the islet is a nature reserve and should not be trampled. The shallow sound towards Bygdøy makes the approach difficult in any case. Check Naturbase, the national database of protected areas, for the exact protection rules before any landing. The rules are legally binding.
Two islets side by side with the same name: Store Herbern is protected and empty of people, Lille Herbern has a restaurant and a ferry. Size separates them, and so does their fate.
The islet is under five metres high. In a storm and a spring tide there is not much margin, and the bare, salt-exposed ground is exactly what produces the shore vegetation the reserve exists to protect.
The shallows between Store Herbern and Bygdøy are flat enough to keep people away on their own, a natural protection long before the legal one arrived.
Oslo Sea Experience passes Store Herbern on its private fjord trips from Tjuvholmen.
The Norwegian version notes which facts were taken from each source: Store Herbern på norsk.