Oluf Holmbua FIRE !

In the aftermath of the devastating fire in Ålesund Norway in the early morning hours of 23 January 1904, help came from an unlikely ally, Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany. He dispatched four large ships to the town loaded with laborers, medicine, equipment and materials for rebuilding the town. For many years he was a fervent tourist to the coast of Norway, visiting little townships and cruising the long fjords of Norway. One of his favorite townships was Ålesund. Help also came from fellow Norwegians but being a fairly poor nation at the time, foreign assistance was greatly needed.

By early fall of that same year, the town's center was rebuilt of stone, tile, concrete and plaster in the German version of the Art Nouveau style, also known as Jugendstil. Young architects of Norway were greatly influenced at the time by this new contemporary style of the day as well as by the National Romanticism style that had captured their fancy showing off spires, turrets and ornamented facades. The entire town center of Ålesund consisting of 850 houses and other wooden buildings burned to the ground that night. Ten thousand left homeless that night. Only 24 houses scattered throughout town remained untouched.

One of those houses belonged to a Norwegian by the name of Anders Nord. This is the tale, part of the town's records, combined with a German translation account of the fire from that night in 1904.

Anders was a devote Christian who studied his Bible every day. His wife, on the other hand, was of weak faith. Ander's faith was strong in God's protection of his household and his faith would prove inspirational. He told his wife that despite the raging fire all around them that night, they should stay put and God would  protect them. He was confident and insistent God would watch out over them despite the raging flames. His wife on the other hand did not believe her husband in this matter and moved most all of their belongings out of the house in a panic to a local park with help from family and friends. She did however leave for him his chair, a small table and his Bible in the house. Sixteen hours after the fire had started, the town center was totally gone, except for Anders and his house. Their furniture and other possessions, which the wife had taken to the local park, was nothing more than a heap of smoldering ashes. His wife brought the children back to the house very apologetic to Anders for her unbelief in what he had told her. The only casualty that night was a 76 year-old widow who lived next to the fire station of all places.

The Oluf Holm building, also known as Holmbua ( Holm shed ) shown in this photo was located along the waterfront of Ålesund, but to the west from the town's harbor entrance. All the warehouse buildings in the harbor waterfront had been destroyed. Built in 1861 this warehouse had been owned and occupied from 1924 to 1986 by the Oluf Holm A/S Company, a prominent fishing wholesaler business processing cod liver oil, dried cod and the making of barrels to contain oil and salt-preserved fish. Today it is a fishing museum with exhibits that depict Norwegian deep sea fishing and the equipment used in that bygone era.