SS Bjoren is a wood-fuelled steamboat

Steamboat

A steamboat or steamship, sometimes called a steamer, is a ship in which the primary method of propulsion is steam power, typically driving propellers or paddlewheels...

 that travels the route between Byglandsfjord

Byglandsfjord

Byglandsfjord is a village in the southern part of the municipality of Bygland in the Aust-Agder county, Norway. The village is in the valley of Setesdal and located at the end of the lake Byglandsfjorden. Its population is 351....

-Bygland

Bygland

Bygland is a municipality in the county of Aust-Agder, Norway. The municipal center is the village of Bygland. Other villages in the municipality include Byglandsfjord, Lauvdal, and Åraksbø...

 and Bygland-Ose

Ose, Norway

Ose is a village in Aust-Agder, Norway....

 on the lake Byglandsfjorden

Byglandsfjorden

Byglandsfjorden is a lake in the municipalities of Bygland and Evje og Hornnes in Aust-Agder county, Norway. It is part of the river Otra, flowing out of the Åraksfjorden...

 in the municipality of Bygland

Bygland

Bygland is a municipality in the county of Aust-Agder, Norway. The municipal center is the village of Bygland. Other villages in the municipality include Byglandsfjord, Lauvdal, and Åraksbø...

 in the Setesdal

Setesdal

Setesdal is a valley and a traditional district in Aust-Agder County in southern Norway. It consists of the municipalities of Bykle, Valle, Bygland, Iveland, and Evje og Hornnes....

 valley. It runs on Sundays in July.

Using wood as fuel is a natural choice as there was, and still is, good local access to it. Using wood to fuel the steam engine contributes to make Bjoren a unique part of Norway's cultural heritage and a floating technical museum.

History

The steamer Bjoren was built at Akers Mechanical works in 1866. She was 52 feet (15.8 m) long and had a 14 BHP engine. In 1897, the boat was extended by 6 feet (1.8 m) and in 1914 she was further extended by 10 feet (3 m). She had a new boiler installed and new engine that produced 42 BHP. Today the boat is 21 metres (68.9 ft) long and weighs 26 tonnes (25.6 LT). She is certified for up to a maximum of 55 passengers.

In the early years Bjoren was in regular use at a place called Kilefjorden

Kilefjorden

Kilefjorden is a lake in the municipalities of Evje og Hornnes and Iveland in Aust-Agder county and Vennesla in Vest-Agder county, Norway. The lake is part of the Otra river and was home to the steamship Bjoren from 1866–1896 when it was moved to the Byglandsfjorden.The lake is located about...

, a part of the river Otra

Otra

The Otra river is the largest river in the Sørlandet region of Norway. It flows from the Setesdalsheiene mountains in Bykle municipality in Aust-Agder county in the north, down to the municipality of Kristiansand in the south, where it flows into the Skagerrak.The Otra is long, making it Norway’s...

. A narrow gauge railroad was opened in 1896 and as a direct cause of this she was moved to her present location in Byglandsfjord, about 30 kilometres (18.6 mi) north in the valley Setesdal where she was in service until 1957. In the 1920s, buses took most of the traffic in the valley and eventually, when a new road was built in the 1950s, the traffic reasons for the steamer was gone. The boat was put in storage, deterioration started and eventually she sunk.

Bjoren's next life

In the 1970s, a group of local enthusiasts decided to make an attempt to preserve the boat. As the boat was counted as part of Norwegian history, the government saw its interests and they helped with the funding. The boat was restored at Drammen Shiprepairs A/S and in 1994 was once again ready to be used.

Today, Bjoren is owned and run by the company Bjoren AS. In addition, the local group called Bjorens venner (Friends of Bjoren) put a lot of effort into preserving the technical values of the boat. Bjoren is still receiving government funding and, as the world's only existing wood-fuelled steamboat still in service, she is a unique attraction to both tourists and others.