Kviknes Hotel, building in Balestrand, Sogn og Fjordane, Norway
Kviknes Hotel is a hotel in Swiss chalet style sitting directly on the shore of the Sognefjord in the village of Balestrand, Norway. The property has two main buildings side by side: an older timber structure with elaborate carved woodwork and a larger concrete wing added later, together offering two restaurants, a bar, and event rooms.
A guesthouse at this spot received its first guests in 1752, making it one of the oldest lodging sites in Norway. The Kvikne family took over in 1877 and commissioned the large timber building in Swiss chalet style, completed in 1913.
The hotel takes its name from the Kvikne family, who have run it for generations and shaped every corner of the old wooden building. Guests walking through the historic wing pass paintings and collected objects that give the place a personal, lived-in feel rather than a polished hotel look.
The hotel can be reached by boat from Bergen or by road, so it works well as a stop on a longer fjord trip. On arrival, guests find electric vehicle charging points, a fitness room, and a sauna on site.
Kaiser Wilhelm II was staying at the hotel when news of the start of World War I reached him in 1914, and the chair he was sitting in at that moment is still kept on the premises. It is a small, easy to overlook object that connects the building directly to one of the turning points of modern history.
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