You're now standing in front of Tangengata 28, also known as Klocks hus.

This is considered one of the oldest houses in Risør. It's believed to have been built around 1720, roughly the time when Risør transitioned from being a trading post to gaining ,market town rights. That makes the house a rare reminder of what the town was like before the great fire of 1861.

It's easy to walk past a house like this without noticing just how old it really is. It doesn't have the grand facade we see on many of the buildings around the harbor, which were erected after the fire. The expression here is simpler and older. The house was built as a two-story wooden house, and on the Kastellveien side, it originally had a veranda in timber framing.

Take a closer look at the small window openings on the second floor. They're small details, but they reveal a lot. Such openings are consistent with an older building style, from a time when houses weren't made for large, bright windows or facades designed to impress.

The name Klocks hus points to one of the families that have been associated with the place. In such old houses, many generations often lived, and the house has changed both owners and functions over time. But the building itself still conveys an impression of Risør before the town got the more planned and harmonious character we see in much of today's city center.

That's what makes Tangengata 28 so special. Many of the houses in Risør's town center tell the story of the reconstruction after the fire. This house takes us further back – to 18th-century Risør, before the straight facades, before the grand city plan, and before the town took on the shape we know today.