The old Norwegian farm | Farmhands could only leave twice a year
Summer and winter Today, the Norwegians think of the year in terms of 4 main seasons: spring, summer, autumn, and winter. But the old Norwegian...
Norwegian Buhund | Herding dog and keeper of ancient traditions
A Buhund is not necessarily equal to a buhund When we talk about a Norwegian buhund, we must distinguish between: The spitz dog type and its place...
Did you read?
Norwegian railway history | The pioneer era 1851-1868
Preparing for progress For thousands of years, the Norwegians relied on boats, horses, reindeer, and their own two feet to transport both goods and...
Norwegian wood | The art of chopping, stacking, and drying firewood
In addition to writing bestseller historical novels and more, Norwegian writer Lars Mytting has penned a fascinating non-fiction book about the art...
Queen Maud of Norway | A young lady on the Isle of Wight
Once upon a time, when Queen Maud of Norway was still Princess Maud of Wales, she was visiting her grandmother at Osborne House on the Isle of...
Norwegian folk instruments | The birch trumpet
Using sound as a tool Since time immemorial, humankind has used sound to: signal danger, pass on a message, call people and farm animals back home,...
The old Norwegian farm | Bringing home the winter hay
In some parts of Norway, you find relatively flat landscapes. Here, the historical farmland was easier to clear and cultivate. The climate was...
Ljå | Means scythe in Norwegian
Pronunciation Ljå The grammar noun | masculine | the indefinite form: en ljå (a ljå) | the definite form: ljåen (the ljå) | comes from the Old Norse...
The muskox | A newcomer in the Norwegian landscape
Muskox fossils In 1913, Norwegian railway workers found muskox ice-age fossils in the mountainous region of Dovre. The fossils predated the time...
A man died after being bitten by a wolf | Norway AD 1720
Vellik was the son of Anders and Mildri, tenants on the farm Nordvoll, and was the oldest of 6 siblings. Vellik married Marit Skarålia in 1716, and...
Queen Maud of Norway | Edward was her father
Edward was born on 9 November 1841, at Buckingham Palace in London. He was Victoria and Albert’s second of nine children. Edward - or Bertie as he...
The old Norwegian farm | When the old Norway changed
Let us begin with the 1769-census In 1769, when Norway was a province under Denmark and was ruled by the Danish king, it had a population of...
The old Norwegian farm | The need for water
When the water came from the well The Norwegian landscape has an abundance of lakes, flowing rivers, creeks, and natural springs. If there was no...
The old Norwegians needed no money
Picture this; the year is AD 1478. A family lives on a small farm in a mountainous part of Norway. The holding consists of a few simple buildings,...
The ancient tradition of Norwegian mountain pasture
Pronunciation Seter Norway is a country full of mountains and forests - vast areas unsuited for the cultivation of grain and other agricultural...
Norway’s King Harald V and Queen Sonja | Forces of nature
King Harald V of Norway Among the Norwegians, King Harald is widely known for his great ability to show empathy and compassion – and not to forget:...
Kløvhest | Means packhorse in Norwegian
Pronunciation Kløvhest The grammar A compound word made up of: kløv + hest | noun | masculine | the indefinite form: en kløvhest (a kløvhest) | the...
Norwegian art | The mysterious boy from Setesdal
The painter Sometimes, photographs or paintings draw you in - and with this fascinating oil painting, the painter Carl Fredrik Sundt-Hansen somehow...
Heddal stave church | A divine building built by a troll
A house of the new religion Christianity came to Norway with the Viking kings, around AD 1000. The Norwegian kings and the Catholic Church did its...
Bergen – Norway | Historical city once plundered by pirates
Once Norway's largest city Historically, Bergen was known as Bjørgvin. It was Norway's largest city throughout the Middle Ages - and up until as...
Queen Maud of Norway | Her background and childhood years
Born in London Maud Charlotte Mary Victoria was born on 26 November 1869, at Marlborough House in London, just a stone's throw away from Buckingham...
Horse history in the land of the Vikings vol 2
Continued from part 1 Had to fend for themselves The early Norwegians did not keep their horses fed and sheltered in a warm stable like we do today....
The old Norwegian farm | Moving into the barn during summer
A peculiar custom Every summer in the early 1900s, when spending the summer months with his grandparents, a young Norwegian boy experienced a...
The old Norwegian cemetery | Once and always a pauper
Christianity and the Viking kings In Scandinavia, Christianity came with the Viking kings, around AD 1000. The new religion brought with it churches...
Norway | What does the name of the country really mean?
The land to the north Today, the official name of the country is The Kingdom of Norway. Let us start by looking at what the Norwegians themselves...
Norwegian food history | The beginning
The early people were hunters and gatherers, and they moved with the seasons and the availability of what Mother Nature had on offer. Except for the...
A Norwegian’s take on the lead-up to the Black Death
The Black Death may have been one of the worst disasters ever to have hit humankind. In the mid-1300s, this bubonic plague went like fire across...
Night fishing using a spear and a torch | Lystring
A leister is an ancient tool Lystring is the gerund form of the Norwegian verb å lystre - pronounced [ly`strə]. The word comes from the Old Norse...
Norwegian folk tales | Pesta and the Black Death
The Black Death The Black Death was a deadly disease that ravaged humankind in the AD 1300s. In Norway, the pandemic came like a firestorm in the...
Norwegian to English dictionary | The best for genealogists?
In North America and other parts of the world, there are millions of descendants of the nearly 1...