In the 1740s the brothers Hendrik and Didrik Fasmer bought the gunpowder mill at Alvøen, and the family has been closely linked to the place ever since. This was a family of rich Bergen residents who had immigrated from Bremen in the 16th century. The works at Alvøen was one of the trading and industrial enterprises the family was engaged in, and throughout the 1700s the property expanded through new acquisitions. An extensive sheep-farming business provided manure that was used in the gunpowder production. The gunpowder factory from the beginning of the 1600s – one of Norway’s oldest industrial enterprises, came to a complete halt in the 1880s. Other products then took over the market.
Paper production started in 1797, in the beginning by the hand-production of textile-based paper (klutepapir). One of the oldest buildings still standing is the old “Hengeriet” where the paper was hung up to dry in the loft. In the 1850s the first paper machines were acquired, and the textile mass was mixed with cellulose. It is textile paper of high quality that has been the most important product from Alvøen throughout the 20th century. For many years bank-note paper for Norges Bank was one of the main products. When the factory was closed down in 1981 a long industrial history came to an end.
A distinct feature in the landscape is the row of white workers’ houses that make out the core of the building mass. The Fasmer family built and owned these houses, which may be said to be the physical expression of a “paternalistic” welfare society; the industrial magnate ensured the welfare of his workers through providing good housing.
