SS Bjoren
{{Short description|1866 Norwegian steamboat}}
| {{Infobox ship begin
|infobox caption= |display title= }} {{Infobox ship image |Ship image=Bjoren 1.jpg |Ship image size= |Ship caption= |image alt= }} {{Infobox ship career |Hide header= |Ship country=Norway |Ship flag={{shipboxflag|Norway|civil}} |Ship name=SS Bjoren |Ship namesake= |Ship owner=Bygland municipality{{cite web|url=https://www.setesdal.no/?id=5303716&cat=296053 |title=Reiselivsnytt - Bjoren vart tildelt Olavsrosa frå Norsk Kulturarv |language=no |date=2013-06-28 |access-date=2 July 2021}} |Ship registry= |Ship route=Bygland-Byglandsfjord – Bygland – Bygland-Ose; Kilefjorden (Evje to Hægeland) (1866-1896){{cite web|url=https://avtrykk.no/dampskipene-i-setesdalen |title=Dampskipene i Setesdalen |author=Gaute Christian Molaug |language=no |website=avtrykk.no |access-date=2 July 2021}}{{cite web|url=https://www.kubenarendal.no/publikasjoner/i-et-historisk-lys/2017/dampbaattrafikk-paa-byglandsfjorden-i-150-aar/ |title=Dampbåttrafikk på Byglandsfjorden i 150 år |author=Leonhard Jansen |language=no |publisher=Agderposten |date=15 December 2017 |access-date=2021-07-02}} |Ship ordered= |Ship awarded= |Ship builder=Akers Mekaniske Verksted |Ship original cost= |Ship yard number=35 |Ship way number= |Ship launched= |Ship sponsor= |Ship christened= |Ship completed= |Ship acquired= |Ship commissioned= |Ship recommissioned= |Ship decommissioned= |Ship maiden voyage=8 June 1867 |Ship in service=1867-1957, since 1994 |Ship out of service=1957-1994 |Ship renamed= |Ship reclassified= |Ship refit=1897; 1914; 1970s until 1994 (Drammen Skibsreparasjoner A/S) |Ship stricken= |Ship reinstated= |Ship homeport=Byglandsfjord |Ship identification= |Ship motto= |Ship nickname= |Ship honours=Olavsrose June 25, 2013 |Ship captured= |Ship fate= |Ship status=active |Ship notes= |Ship badge= }} {{Infobox ship characteristics |Hide header= |Header caption= |Ship class= |Ship type= |Ship tonnage=26 long tons, 29 short tons |Ship displacement= |Ship tons burthen= |Ship length=20,8 m (since 1914); 17,8 m (1897-1914); 16 m |Ship beam= |Ship height= |Ship draught= |Ship draft= |Ship depth= |Ship hold depth= |Ship decks=1 |Ship deck clearance= |Ship ice class= |Ship power=42 bhp (since 1914); 14 bhp |Ship propulsion=1 steam engine, 1 wood-fired boiler, 1 propeller |Ship speed= |Ship range= |Ship endurance= |Ship boats= |Ship capacity=55 people (since 1994), 92 people |Ship complement= |Ship crew= |Ship time to activate= |Ship sensors= |Ship EW= |Ship notes= }} |
File:Steaming away 2.jpg in the northern part of the lake Byglandsfjorden.]]
SS Bjoren is a wood-fuelled steamboat that travels the route between Bygland-Byglandsfjord, Bygland and Bygland-Ose on the lake Byglandsfjorden in the municipality of Bygland in the Setesdal valley. She runs on Sundays in July.{{cite web|url=http://www.snl.no/Bygland|title=Bygland|author=Store norske leksikon|author-link=Store norske leksikon|language=no|access-date=2010-04-20}}
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 Mekaniske Verksted in 1866. She was {{convert|52|ft|m}} long, had a {{convert|14|BHP|abbr=on|lk=in}} engine and was certified for up to 92 passengers. In 1897, the boat was extended by {{convert|6|ft|m}} and in 1914 she was further extended by {{Convert|10|ft|m}}. She had a new boiler installed and new engine that produced {{convert|42|BHP|abbr=on}}. Today the boat is {{convert|21|m}} long and weighs {{convert|26|t}}. She is certified for up to 55 passengers.
In the early years Bjoren was in regular use at a place called Kilefjorden, a part of the river Otra. When the Setesdal Line, a narrow gauge railroad, was opened to Byglandsfjord Station in 1896 and as a direct cause of this she was moved to her present location in Byglandsfjord, about {{convert|30|km}} 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 steamer's need for commuting was gone. The boat was put in storage, deterioration started and eventually she sank.
''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 by the Bygland municipality 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.[http://www.bjoren.no/ SS Bjoren, official website] {{in lang|no}}[https://web.archive.org/web/20151124182504/http://www.visitnorway.com/us/product/?pid=115242 SS Bjoren] www.visitnorway.com {{in lang|en}}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Oldest surviving ships (pre-1919)}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bjoren}}