History of the hotel

Hotell Hordaheimen was established 90 years ago by the Young Farmers Association in Bergen and some private shareholders. The decided to create a place to stay and eat for " country folk".

When the hotel opened in 1918 it had 35 simple rooms equipped with " night furniture" ( a chamber pot ), hand basin and jug.

The colour scheme was sombre browns and greens, which were very popular at the time.

Today, Hotell Hordaheimen, is a modern commercial hotel with deep traditions.

The hotel` s 88 rooms have all been renovated in the past 5 years. The rooms are comfortably furnished, and wireless Internet makes working direct from the peace and quiet from your room that much easier.

The hotel can be marked today as it was in 1918: " A guest is not just a guest - a guest is a friend".

Hotell Hordaheimen today is a modern commercial hotel with all the facilities one would expect of a hotel. But according to our guests, what sets us apart is our unique homely atmosphere.

This shows that the philosophy the Young Farmers Association had when Hordaheimen was founded in 1918 is still valid today, and that we have managed to create a homely atmosphere for all types of guests.

The hotel is located at the heart of Bergen and it is a good base for excursions to the Norwegian fjords and mountains.

But if you are looking for a more urbane experience, the city`s attractions, shopping and night life are just a stone` s throw away.

Best Western Hotell Hordaheimen is still a traditional hotel. As mentioned above, when the hotel was founded in 1918 the idea was to provide a place to stay for " country folk".

Then, as now, the owners have ensured that we have taken this concept from 1918 and brought it up to date. We still have guests who appreciate being referred to as " country folk" but the majority of our guests today are business people from Norway and abroad.

Built in Jugend style, the hotel represents an important period in Bergen` s history and it steeped in history itself. Through many years of activity and with an owner that always wanted to preserve Norwegian traditions, the hotel has bulit up a fine collection of art and antique furniture.

A common feature throughout the hotel is items of furniture prodused by the famous Norwegian wood carver Lars Kinsarvik ( 1846-1928). He was one of the best known artisans in his field and produced magnificent pieces of carved furniture depicting important historical events from Norway. It is worth visiting Hordaheimen just to see Kinsarvik` s furniture and Nils Bergslien` s art works.

In restaurant Kaffistova hangs a magnificent paiting by Nils Bergslien entitled " Heilage Olav på Hundorp" ( St. Olav at Hundorp). The motif is Snorre Sturlason`s royal saga depicting King Olav`s

pilgrimage through Gudbrandsdalen in 1022, and is the envy of museums throughout Scandinavia. We also have many other works of art hanging in the hotel`s corridors and common areas produced by wel-known artists. It is said that the artists often paid for heir stay by donating paitings to the hotel. Hordaheimen has always been popular among artists and writers, and still today, but fortunately, they pay with credit cards or cash like the rest of us!

For uninitiated, Norway has three offical languages: bokmål ( lit.the book language and most commonly used of the two Norwegian standard languages), nynorsk ( or New Norwegian used by roughly 10% of the populationas the first language). The staff at Best Western Hotell Hordaheimen has chosen nynorsk as the working language of the hotel, but out of consideration for the Internet, the homepage of our website is in bokmål. However, if you click on the " Ivar Aasen" icon at the top-left of our homepage you will information in nynorsk. Some might consider this strange but the majority appreciates our effort to preserve a language that so many Norwegians are proud of!