The Garden, Thor Tarzan and the Animal House

The hanging garden behind the fence formed young Thor’s safe playground. It looks a bit different today than it did then. The shed and his father’s brewery are absent, among other things. The block of flats you see here today is in the same position as the brewery used to be. The climbing frame where the boy played at being Tarzan is no longer here. His interest was first and foremost in books and nature, not sport, which was usual in Larvik at the time. His father tried to compensate for his lack of interest in sport by setting up two very high poles in the garden so his son was at least able to develop some physical skills inspired by the young boy’s interest in Edgar Rice Burrough’s books about an aristocratic boy who, after a shipwreck off the coast of Africa, was brought up by apes and lived out in the jungle. Thor lapped up the popular Tarzan books and loved to play Tarzan using the solid climbing ropes with two rings. However, Thor’s favourite place in his childhood jungle garden was a newly fitted room in the old brewery stable in the red, two floor outhouse, today a veranda with a roof. The youngster, who was interested in nature, developed a zoological museum here known as the “Animal House”. The janitor lived on the second floor of the outhouse with his family, but there was a brew house, a woodshed, rooms and stables which had ceased to be used for their intended purposes after the brewing process was moved to Larvik Brewery’s property at Torget, which today is the “Bryggerikvartal”. This is where the collection took form. It consisted of butterflies and insects in boxes with glass lids, shells, conches and tortoise shells, dried starfish and crabs, freshwater creatures from the Herregård Pond and snakes and reptiles well preserved in jars and bottles filled with formaldehyde and alcohol. On the floor along one wall, the young zoologist laid a sandbank using sand collected from the beaches along the fjord. Here he laid out all kinds of shells, dried crab shells, sea urchins and starfish in a natural environment with seaweed and driftwood worn down by the sea. His father contributed exotic butterflies, stuffed animals and other suitable animals including sea creatures and monkfish from the quays down in the Inner Harbour. Dead butterflies and insects were carefully prepared and fixed with nails and aquaria and terraria were built in the garden outside. Boxes filled with earth and turf and large jars and containers were stuck into the ground. Containers were filled with water and live salamanders and other creatures from expeditions to the ponds in the Byskogen Forest. And the different species reproduced. The salamanders, frogs and diving beetles began to lay eggs. Rumours soon spread in the local society about the collection and children from other areas of the town were allowed to come and see. The general public soon flocked to see the collection and one day, a teacher of biology marched up with his whole class to admire the town’s zoological museum. The story of the animals would not be complete without saying that Thor’s mother bought two goats for the young natural scientist. They provided fresh milk every morning, which was healthier than cow’s milk according to her. The two small goats, as well as Fanny’s dog, became good playmates for the lonely and overprotected explorer. He admitted that he was really quite a scaredy cat when he was a child. Steingata 7 is owned by Larvik Borough today and Trine Lise Gran of Stavern runs the house. After our visit to Heyerdahl’s childhood home, we continue our journey eastwards along Karlsrostredet to Damveien at the top of Herregårdsbakken.