Holmsbu is a small coastal village on the Drammensfjord side of the Hurum peninsula, and it has an unlikely artistic past.
In 1911, painters Oluf Wold-Torne and Thorvald Erichsen discovered this quiet spot and began painting here. Henrik Sørensen followed in 1913 and kept coming back for the rest of his life. For over fifty years, Scandinavian painters and poets came to Holmsbu, making it one of Norway's most important artist colonies.
Holmsbu Billedgalleri was established in 1963 after Sørensen's son donated property and paintings to the municipality. The museum building, designed by architect Bjart Faye Mohr in 1973, consists of four overlapping cubes in local Drammen granite. It houses over 100 paintings, including 86 works by Henrik Sørensen, 13 by Thorvald Erichsen, and six by Oluf Wold-Torne. Summer exhibitions feature other artists.
Most people today know Holmsbu for the spa hotel. Holmsbu Spa & Resort opened in 2003 in a complex of 70 sections: 69 privately owned apartments and the hotel itself. It never turned a profit, losing 3-4 million kroner a year, and went bankrupt twice before the final collapse in February 2019. Eighty people lost their jobs. The bankruptcy created an absurd situation: apartment owners could not use the elevator to reach their homes, because the elevator was part of the hotel's bankruptcy estate. A 95-year-old resident had to climb the fire escape stairs to reach his own flat. The estate was eventually sold for 14 million kroner and now operates again as Holmsbu Resort under new ownership, with spa, accommodation, and plans for further development.
Beyond the drama, Holmsbu and nearby Rødtangen are old bathing towns with small galleries, cafes, and sheltered bays for swimming.
In 1911, painters Oluf Wold-Torne and Thorvald Erichsen discovered this quiet spot and began painting here. Henrik Sørensen followed in 1913 and kept coming back for the rest of his life. For over fifty years, Scandinavian painters and poets came to Holmsbu, making it one of Norway's most important artist colonies.
Holmsbu Billedgalleri was established in 1963 after Sørensen's son donated property and paintings to the municipality. The museum building, designed by architect Bjart Faye Mohr in 1973, consists of four overlapping cubes in local Drammen granite. It houses over 100 paintings, including 86 works by Henrik Sørensen, 13 by Thorvald Erichsen, and six by Oluf Wold-Torne. Summer exhibitions feature other artists.
Most people today know Holmsbu for the spa hotel. Holmsbu Spa & Resort opened in 2003 in a complex of 70 sections: 69 privately owned apartments and the hotel itself. It never turned a profit, losing 3-4 million kroner a year, and went bankrupt twice before the final collapse in February 2019. Eighty people lost their jobs. The bankruptcy created an absurd situation: apartment owners could not use the elevator to reach their homes, because the elevator was part of the hotel's bankruptcy estate. A 95-year-old resident had to climb the fire escape stairs to reach his own flat. The estate was eventually sold for 14 million kroner and now operates again as Holmsbu Resort under new ownership, with spa, accommodation, and plans for further development.
Beyond the drama, Holmsbu and nearby Rødtangen are old bathing towns with small galleries, cafes, and sheltered bays for swimming.