The photograph was taken by Johan Marius Lyng Olsen and shows how the workers use tongs to pull blocks of ice from the chute to load them onto the ships. The photograph was taken at Frøvik ice mill. BKM. F.003113

With a growing population, especially in England, there was a great demand for natural ice. The ice, which could last for a year in an ice house, was used to cool meat, fish and beer. The ice was also an important part of a thriving café culture around the Mediterranean.

In Kragerø there were several pioneers in the development of ice ponds, ice chutes and ice houses. As a result, Kragerø was Norway’s leading port for ice export in 1899.
In this exhibition you will see unique photographs and artefacts from the many ice farms in Kragerø and some of the places where the ice was exported.