Kvernsteinparken in Hyllestad Municipality

“No one shall take a handmill or an upper millstone as security [for a debt], for he would be taking a [person’s] life in pledge" Deuteronomy 24:6

In Hyllestad, you will find Norway's and Northern Europe's largest stone quarry from the Viking Age and Middle Ages. This vast cultural landscape is like a history book carved in stone that tells of extensive mining operations dating back to the early Iron Age. Millstones - "stones of life" - were the primary product, but also symbol-laden stone crosses found their way from the quarries in Hyllestad. Over half of the preserved stone crosses from the late Viking Age and Middle Ages along the West Coast of Norway originate from here, with the crosses in Eivindvik, Korssund, and Svanøy as accessible examples in the region. These bear witness to the time when Christianity made its entrance into Norway and are distinctive features of the Coastal Pilgrimage Route.

The key location Kvernsteinparken in Hyllestad is an open-air museum under the Museums of Sogn og Fjordane. The museum area constitutes a small part of the historic stone quarry landscape at Myklebust, near the present-day administrative center of Hyllestad municipality, and its main task is to convey the historical mining activities in the region to the public. The main focus is placed on millstone production, but the stone crosses are also central to the interpretation.

In Kvernsteinparken, there are partly facilitated, signposted hiking trails to various quarry sites, as well as the cross quarry, where archaeologist Irene Baug found fragments of seven stone crosses dating back to the early Iron Age in the summer of 2008. Centrally located in Kvernsteinparken, you can also see a stone cross that students at Hyllestad school carved as part of the school project "The Stone Cutter Camp."

The outdoor area in Kvernsteinparken is accessible all year round, so is the pilgrim's book and stamps that can be found in a mailbox at the reception building.

Exhibitions, museum shop, and activities are available every day from 11:00 to 17:00 during the summer season (mid-June to mid-August), and otherwise available for larger groups by appointment. See the website for more information: https://misf.no/kvernsteinsparken

From Kvernsteinparken, Hyllestad old cemetery is within walking distance. Here you will find three small crosses from the early Middle Ages on the corner of the cemetery wall. A fourth hangs in today's Hyllestad church from 1880.

For travelers along Kystpilegrimsleia traveling with their own boat, Hyllestad guest harbor at Myklebustneset is the nearest port. From here, there is a prepared path via the center where there is a supermarket (Spar Hyllestad) to the key location Kvernsteinparken.

From the key location, it is 11 km to the pilgrim hostel Sognhostel at Salbu. Travelers traveling by car or bicycle should consider a trip up the majestic Lifjellet mountain and take the opportunity to visit Korssund on their way northward.

For information on travel tips and route planning, see: https://www.fjordnorway.com/no/plan

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