Homewood is a property in

Sandvika Sandvika () is the administrative centre of the municipality of Bærum in Norway. It was declared a List of cities in Norway, city by the municipal council (Norway), municipal council in Bærum on 4 June 2003. Sandvika is situated approximately ...

Bærum Bærum () is a municipality in the Greater Oslo Region in Norway that forms an affluent suburb of Oslo on the west coast of the city. Bærum is Norway's fifth largest municipality with a population of 128,760 (2021). It is part of the electoral ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

. It is known historically as the home of

Otto Sverdrup Otto Neumann Knoph Sverdrup (31 October 1854, in Bindal, Helgeland – 26 November 1930) was a Norwegian sailor and Arctic explorer. Early and personal life He was born in Bindal as a son of farmer Ulrik Frederik Suhm Sverdrup (1833–1914) ...

, and has been municipal-owned since 1962.

History

The property, located on the hill Sandviksåsen, was originally a part of the cotter's farm Sandviksgrunnene, which is in turn considered as the foundation of the modern town

. Sandviksgrunnene has various owners until bought by the Walle family in 1842. Anthon Walle took over in 1881, and during his time Homewood was separated from Sandviksgrunnene. The road in which Homewood is located is named after Anthon Walle. The origin of the name Homewood is uncertain. Homewood was owned by ship-owner Chr. Klaveness around 1889, when the Swiss-style villa was built. The Swiss style had been spread to Sandvika as

Sandvika Station Sandvika Station ( no, Sandvika stasjon) is a railway station located at Sandvika in Bærum, Norway. Situated on the Drammen Line, from Oslo S, it also an intermediate station of the Asker Line. Vy (transport operator), Vy serves the station with ...

was built in this style in 1872.

lived here from 1908 to his death in 1930. He was considered among the Big Three of Norwegian polar exploration, together with

Fridtjof Nansen Fridtjof Wedel-Jarlsberg Nansen (; 10 October 186113 May 1930) was a Norwegian polymath and Nobel Peace Prize laureate. He gained prominence at various points in his life as an explorer, scientist, diplomat, and humanitarian. He led the team t ...

and

Roald Amundsen Roald Engelbregt Gravning Amundsen (, ; ; 16 July 1872 – ) was a Norwegian explorer of polar regions. He was a key figure of the period known as the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration. Born in Borge, Østfold, Norway, Amundsen bega ...

Later use

In 1937 the property was bought by Bjarne Walle. In 1962 he bequeathed the property to Bærum municipality, on the condition that it be used for nervous patients. It was originally used as an office building, but in 2005 the villa was opened as a cultural centre for people with moderate

mental disorder A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness or psychiatric disorder, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. Such features may be persistent, relapsing and remitti ...

s, under the name Villa Walle.

References

{{Coord, 59.89207, 10.53023, type:landmark_region:NO, display=title Buildings and structures in Bærum