“Skraddarburet”

This old storehouse, which is located at Austegard, belonged to the legendary tailor called Knut. Today, it is on private hands, but you are welcome to drop by and have a look. The storehouse was one of the most important buildings on a farm, designed for the storage of food provisions and clothes. According to an old legal act, Gulatingslova, you had the right to kill a man who was caught stealing from the storehouse. “Skraddarburet” at Austegard is the oldest non-religious building in this region of Norway. The ground floor is dendrochronologically dated to the 1520s, while the upper floor was added some time during the 1600s. The storehouse was named after Knut Nilssøn Mørk – or Knut Skraddar (tailor). According to local history books, Knut was sent from Denmark at a young age to his uncle in Bergen, to learn the tailor’s trade. He was supposed to have chased some thieves all the way to Vardø, in the extreme north of Norway, and for the reward he received from the king, he purchased Austegard and many other farms in Åseral.