Boen Gård

Boen Gård

Boen Gård stands on the bank of the Tovdalselva river, thirteen kilometres outside Kristiansand. Its history runs back to 1520, when the estate was owned by the crown and later by a queen, a magistrate and a line of merchant families, before the main house was built in 1813; the estate stayed closed to visitors until it reopened for private stays and events in 2012. Eighteen rooms are split between that restored main house, four of them in the old wing where staff once lived, and two riverside buildings holding the other fourteen, rebuilt with rough timber next to comfortable furnishings. The kitchen draws directly from the grounds: vegetables, apples, berries, herbs and honey grown in its own garden, lamb raised on its outlying land, and salmon taken from its own fishing rights on the river, so the restaurant menu is closer to a farm record than a supplier list. A converted ice house holds conference space for twenty to forty people, and the main house runs wedding packages built around the same kitchen and grounds. There's a terrace and garden for slower mornings, nearby hiking trails, airport transfer and concierge for anyone arriving without a car, and free Wi-Fi throughout. This suits a couple wanting a few unhurried days away from a city schedule, or a group booking the whole property for a wedding or conference. It will frustrate anyone hoping to walk to Kristiansand's restaurants after dinner, or who needs a lift: there are no elevators. Checkout stretches to eleven, and an extra bed costs 1,095 NOK a night. It runs as a working estate first and a hotel second, and that order shows in everything it serves. A working estate on the Tovdalselva river outside Kristiansand, where the kitchen runs on its own garden produce, lamb and salmon from private fishing rights. Eighteen rooms fill a restored 1813 main house and two riverside buildings; there are no elevators, and the city sits thirteen kilometres off.