Who We Are
Get to Know Us
Johs H Giæver AS has a long history, and if you are curious of some of our history, you have come to the right place! at this page you can read more about the story of Havnnes as a trading post, and the family behind our business.
A little history
The business of Johs. H. Giæver took over in 1868 and was started by Tomas A. Lyng on 22 August 1795, according to a copy of the royal grant. Tomas A. Lyng was married to the legendary "Mother Lyng", who had 12 children, none of whom survived. The story goes that she adopted 32 foster children when she was not fortunate enough to have children of her own.
The buildings at Havnnes were not burned during the evacuation in the fall of 1944 - unlike all other houses on Uløya. On returning home in May 1945, posters were found telling German that the place should not be burned because it had artistic value (Künstlerisch wertvoll - daher nicht zerstören! Was written with ink on cellulose cardboard - the crisis feed of the crisis).
If you walk between the houses in Havnnes you will notice the three houses that form a boundary between the entrance hall and the entrance hall, the entrance hall is red painted and the entrance hall is white painted. (The white paint was the finest, but the red paint was the cheapest.)
The company Johs. H. Giæver AS currently operates in several locations; Havnnes, Djupvik and Henningsvær. We run an extensive business with production and export of fish products, preferably dryfish.
At Havnnes we also run a general store where you can buy most of your groceries. The selection is not as large as it was at the old land dealers where you could buy everything from knitting needles and fishing gear to clothes and shoes.
We can offer freshly baked bread and fresh newspapers from 0900. We also have mail in butikk, so we make sure that the island's residents get their mail from the store opens and they have the opportunity to pick up and send packages, letters and mail orders. It is also possible to withdraw money from an account in DnB, and we have a payment terminal. (ApplePay, GooglePay, Vipps, VISA, MasterCard and American Express). We also have 95 octane petrol and diesel for boats.
In Gammelbrygga from 1893 we have a small museum with objects that have been for sale in the old country store, as well as some old office equipment. On the 2nd floor we have a unique photo exhibition with pictures taken by Annie Giæver. The pictures were taken between 1900 and 1955 and show daily life along the coast during this period. The exhibition also includes photos from the Kautokeino reindeer rides and out to the coast when the reindeer were out on summer pastures. The exhibition is well worth a visit.
We lay there behind Hundred Mile and all over the world hidden Even the children of the country half thought we were there but did not know it. And something so happened to Rest No something so hopelessly Forgotten
Knut Hamsund
From start to now
The history of the Giæver family at Havnnes
After Mor Lyng's death, the proprietary property was bought by the partnership "The Association for the Abolition of the Tenancy Service in Skjervø". As the tenants announced their interest in buying, they were able to buy the mills at a favourable price.
Johannes Holmboe Giæver, the first Giæver in Havnnes, established himself as a merchant here in 1868 under the firm Johs. H. Giæver. He ran it big at Havnnes, not least in terms of fish turnover, and increased farm operations both in terms of the herd and annual seed. His wife died in 1906. His sons, Carl Holmboe Giæver and Thorvald Hoseth Giæver took over after their mother's death; the daughters Marie and Annie had already taken over the household and continued with this until Thorvald H. Giæver and his wife Hanna, b. Aagard took over in 1931 after Jens Carl Giæver's death.
Thorvald Hoseth Giæver, b 1877, spent his entire life working at Havnnes. He became co-owner in 1918 and sole owner in 1931. For 55 years, he led Skjærvø Sparebank, which had its seat at Havnnes from 1900. His interests were all-encompassing, and in 1947 he was awarded the HM King's Medal of Merit in gold for socially beneficial activities.
During the forced evacuation in 1944-45, the family lived in Trondheim. When they returned after the evacuation, there were rumours that Havnnes had also been burned, but it turned out not correct. When they returned, they found a poster that read, "Worth protecting! Do not burn ». The poster can be found today at Havnnes.
His eldest son, Johannes Holmboe Giæver, b 1913, became co-owner of the company in 1937 and sole owner from 1956. His abilities as a businessman were early seized. The fishing industry and banking probably took most of his skills and time. In 1982 he was appointed knight of St. Olav's Order for Social Benefit. He was married to Gunvor Rønning, b 1916 in Trondheim. The family moved to Tromsø in 1960.
Of the family's 5 children, the youngest of the sons, Einar Giæver, b. 1945, settled on Havnnes. From 1969 he was manager of the company Johs. H. Giæver, in 1974, became co-owner and in 1979, sole owner. After schooling at Statens Lærebruk in Vardø, courses and professional practice in fisheries manufacturing, he runs from Havnnes an extensive business with production and export of fish products, then mainly stockfish. Apart from Havnnes, the company had a number of uses in Finnmark, Troms and Nordland.
His son, Thorvald Havnnes Giæver, born in 1968, has taken over as general manager of the company from 01.01.2000. He has his background from Kystartilleriets Befalsskole, Treider Handelsskole, Eksportmarkedsføring ved Møre og Romsdal Fiskeritekniske Høgskole, PhD candidate in the USA for the Norwegian Export Council, marketing consultant in Italy for Fiskeprodusentenes Fellessalg, employee in Aalesundfisk AS in Ålesund. He has held various positions within Johs. H. Giæver AS and in 1999, he returned to run the company. He has been the general manager since the year 2000.
The sixth generation of Giæver at Havnnes is represented by his four children, Johannes Holmboe Bergfald Giæver, b 1997, Christian Havnnes Bergfald Giæver, b 2002, Jens Severin Hallen Bergfald Giæver, b 2004, and Haakon Marinius Holmboe Bergfald Giæver, b 2004.
Liste over litteratur der man kan lese om Havnnes
List of literature where you can read about Havnnes (Only available in Norwegian)
COLDEVIN, A.
”Jordegods og storgårder i Nord-Norge”
FRIIS, GUTTORM
”Skjærvø Sparebank”
FRIIS, GUTTORM
”Handelsstedet Havnnes”
FUGELSØY, M.
”Skjervøy Bygdebok I & II
GIÆVER, JOHN
”Vesle Thomas” og ”Konene i Mårsund
KNUTSEN, NILS M
”Nessekongene”
SERCK-HANSEN
”Væreiere og Nessekonger”
YTREBERG, N.A.
«Nordlandske Handelssteder”
LIE, JON H.
N/A
Havnnes Handelssted har også vært med i NRK/Toppen Beck’s TV-program «Herskapelig»