Text: Per Bakke

Adapted and translated into English by Ivar Teigum

Ottekren around 1900.

Ottekren is situated at the west side of the railway line, on the Ola Dahl Street. The name Ottekren indicates that the beginnings were modest fields of grain, notably barley, grown along the bank of the Otta river. What is left of the original farm is the main building, which dates from the 1890s, and which has been enlarged and refurbished.

Along with the growing of grain and the production of milk and meat for home use, the farm had its own wood, its summer abode in the mountains, and its own slate quarry.

After the opening of the railway in 1896, and caused by the growth of the population in the surrounding area, farming at Ottekren was replaced by various activities. The existing main building has been the scene of an early secondary school, diverse shops, among them a workshop – and even the first petrol pump at Otta was established there in 1922.

The Ottekren Farm in 1909. To the right is the main building, then follow barns and sheds.