Visit to skien part 2

Greetings, community, travellers, and friends :)

In my last post about my visit to Skien, we walked up to the Ibsen statue, which stands in front of the church.
Standing in Isbsen Park, where some benches are made for sitting and relaxing under the hunter statue.

The cool fountain

Peer Gynt rode on a reindeer. One of the popular characters from Ibsen's dramas.

It is a large, open park, and at its center, there is a fountain accompanied by some statues that represent Ibsen's dramas.
All around blooming nice flowers.
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This old building is called Festiviteten means to celebrate or enjoy good moments with family and friends. The maintenance of the building must be quite expensive.

From a long distance, we saw those plastic wraps around, and we were a little disappointed.

even more disappointed when I saw the church door was closed. I heard about its beautiful interior, but next time.

Skien Church, a remarkable site in Norway, stands as a testament to the country's historical and architectural heritage. This stunning church, characterized by its intricate design and serene surroundings, the church displays a beautiful blend of traditional Norwegian styles, featuring a tall tower that reaches towards the sky, visible from various points in the city. When we were there, the restoration work was in progress, and the church was closed, but from the outside it was was attractive.

We were on our way to the center and saw this statue in the garden close to the church

“Tonen” stands right next to Skien Church (and the Norges Bank building). It was made by Dyre Vaa in 1947-48 and erected in memory of Abraham Hvidtsten, who was the church's organist. He also composed the melody for the Skienssangen 🩷 . The statue is special in that Vaa wanted to highlight the beautiful national costume (something he had not done before). He also highlighted the lady's fingers, where she plays langeleik for the girl who is listening
We wanted to explore the Telemark canal lock so we returned to the water. Luckily, because it was Saturday we didn't have any time limit for parking.
We need to cross the main traffic road to get to the lock location.
it wasn't bad. Norwegians are very good at driving carefully, and there was a footpath on both sides of the drawbridge, which opens when a big boat passes.

When the bridge is opening, the signal lights blink red. it is a traffic stop alert.

And where I marked with a green line are the hinges where the bridge lifts.

The view of the canal from the bridge.

From the road, if you take the right turn, you come to Tømmerkaia.
the place is nicely maintained by summer flowers. it was where the logs that were floated from inland down the canal to Skien were gathered and stored

The monument/fountain on Smieøya honors the log drivers who performed this risky task crucial to the foundation of the city's development and its long history of the wood industry. This monument was designed by the artist Trygve Barstad.

Taking a turn, the road follows under the bridge towards the Skien lock. its two chambers allow for boats coming from the sea and up the Skien river to access the canal and continue far inland

view of the town and industrial area from the jetty.

Skien Lock is the first lock in the Telemark Canal and has a lift height of 5 meters. Construction began in 1854 and was completed in 1861.

The height difference between Hjellevannet and Bryggevannet was an obstacle to continuous boat traffic from Lower to Upper Telemark.
The four natural waterfalls in the city could not be crossed by boat. Therefore, in the middle of the last century, a project began to create a navigable route via a canal system. In 1860, a canal between Eidet and Smiøye was completed with two chambers, and the following year it was opened for regular operation. This canal has since been the gateway to Norsjø and all the lakes up to Dalen.

My husband walked from the normal path,
I didnæt follow that path; instead that I wanted some adventure. I tried to cross the closed gates of the lock, the walkway for the canal workers is around 1 foot wide/thick. Before I took many photos of the nice view.

Below the lock, there is a waiting jetty for boats.

Above the lock, in Hjellevannet, there is a guest harbor and service facilities.

Before commencing, I took this photo of the lock gate, which, when filled, will open, allowing the boat to continue into the next chamber, 2 1/2 meters higher. And when the upper chamber is filled and the gates open, the boat can enter the canal.

Me crossing the wall. They are a little shaky, and not very strong, but ok for my size. at least there is a railing on both sides.

Standing on the slightly unstable wall looking down at the water makes butterflies in the stomach.

This photo of the first gate of the lock, T took this photo when I was standing in the middle of the gate wall

Finally, I made it. crossed the gate wall.

My husband was waiting for me at the upper gate.

before joining him, I took a photo of the gate that opens to the canal.

There are some steps to come up to the road level.

the bridge

I managed to cross the upper-level gate. It is made of solid metal, but the top where I walked has metal netting. While crossing it, I took photos of both sides.

upper leval is the traw bridge

The downlevel is the lower gate.

And here the exit, stairs lead to the road and a small path under the traw bridge.

we choose the small path along the river.

followed to the parking lot. Enjoyed some more views of the other side of town and the monument.

As we were hungry, we went to the mall Arkaden to buy food, just a few photos of a play hall for children.

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And it was the visit to Skien. How do you like Please tell me in the comments. See you soon at another place.

It is my work, my photos, please don't share them on another platform without my permission. can be reblog but not share.

Thank you! :)

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