Scan Magazine | Conference Feature | Solåsen Pilegrimsgård

A conference venue too good to share Sometimes the best places are those that hardly anyone knows about, those which you come across by chance or because a good friend confides in you, trusting you will keep it a secret. Solåsen Pilegrimsgård is exactly that: an events venue completely out of the ordinary, where the focus lies in finding inner peace and quiet in picturesque surroundings.

are only 45 minutes from Oslo, and even closer to the international airport, Rygge. However, while we are indeed ideally located in terms of travel, you would never think that coming here,” Holmås says.

By Helene Toftner | Photos: Ingeborg Thorsland

Words do not do the scenery justice, but it is perfectly understandable why this became part of the traditional pilgrimage to Nidaros, today’s Trondheim in central Norway. While the traditional pilgrims would often walk for weeks, if not months, to a holy place to seek redemption, the modern guest finds calmness in a rather more comfortable manner. “Our guests can take part in meditation sessions or prayers in the chapel, combined with walks in the surrounding forests,” says Holmås.

Solåsen Pilegrimsgård translates to Solåsen Pilgrimage Farm. This in itself alludes to the fact that this is much more than your bog standard conference centre. At its inception 17 years ago, it was an exclusively religious venue mainly

used by Christian organisations, priests and the like. Today, however, the centre greets a wider audience for conferences and social gatherings in exceptional settings inspired by a traditional farmyard. “We have had guests saying it’s so good they don’t want others to know about it,” Jorunn K. Holmås laughs. Together with her husband, Holmås runs Solåsen Pilegrimsgård, a place popular for events, meetings and conferences as well as family gatherings such as weddings and birthdays. Located on a hill in Son, it overlooks the entire Oslofjord. “We

For more information, please visit: www.pilegrimsgard.no

Issue 84 | January 2016 | 31