On two wheels in Astrup's kingdom

Traveling to Jølster is like traveling into Nikolai Astrup's realm. From the saddle of your bike, you get closer to the sensory landscape around Jølstravatnet. We have a large bike park with electric bikes, hybrid bikes and children's bikes for rent.

The home of Nikolai and Engel Astrup is world-famous as a motif in the artist's paintings. On a bike ride to the Astrup yard you can see the Ice Queen, the Seljekallen and the fox bells.

Behind the rectory at Ålhus you can see Kleberfossen waterfall plunging into the Jølet River. The artistic calling was indomitable in the young priest's son who grew up to become one of our foremost painters:

"I'm dying to get out and learn something about painting."

This is what the then 17-year-old Nikolai Astrup wrote in a letter to his friend Arne Giverholt in 1897. The water flowed lively through the landscape, and together with the light and the seasons, created an inexhaustible source of inspiration for the artist throughout his life.

Do you hear? The sound of the water flowing? The sound gave our village its name:

Jølster. The sound of running water.