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 folk tales | Pesta and the Black Death
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Norwegian folklore and folktales
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...
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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...
Growth of the soil | Homesteading in the Norwegian mountains
As a young person growing up in Norway, my dream was to emigrate and become a homesteader somewhere in the North American wilderness. The problem...
The Norwegian summer pasture farm | Preserving milk in a bog
Bogmilk The Norwegian word myrmelk is composed of two words: myr + melk = myrmelk. Myr means peat bog or wetland - and melk means milk, so in...
Remembering schoolteacher Eilert Wulff | Norway AD 1904
According to his obituary, published in the newspaper Nordkap on 28 October, Eilert Andreas Wulff was born in Kvæfjord, Troms, Norway, in 1874....
Norwegian landscapes | On the coastal path along the Oslofjord
The landscape in this very particular part of Norway is relatively flat and was once below sea level. As the enormous amounts of heavy ice melted...
Skibladner | Norway’s oldest paddle steamer still in service
The great Lake Mjøsa It was on the great Lake Mjøsa that Skibladner went on her maiden voyage in 1856, as both a passenger and a freight vessel. And...
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...
Skoklefallsdagen | The old Norway’s last day of spring
Pronunciation Skoklefallsdagen No sowing after this day Skoklefallsdagen was the day in the spring that the farmers had to have all the cultivated...
Muskox | Norwegian man killed in 1964 muskox attack
Driven away from the herd After several attempts, the muskox species was successfully introduced into the Norwegian fauna around 1950. Its main...
Norwegian ice export | a booming business for more than a century
See more photos at the end of the post Why the need for ice? The industrial revolution drove big change, and the creation of big cities. Food and...
Norwegian food history | The difference between mead and beer
Pronunciation Mjød - øl Divine qualities The making of beer and mead stretches several thousand years back. The preparation process is similar, so...
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 | Memories from Langfjordbotn in Finnmark
We find the small community of Langfjordbotn in the municipality of Alta, in the region of Finnmark. Tourists sometimes make a stop here on their...
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...
Norwegian censuses | The 1769 census was the first
Norway in 1769 In 1769, Norway was de facto a province under the Danish crown. The young Christian VII, known from the film A royal affair, was king...
Norwegian words | Skårfast | Stuck on a mountain ledge
Getting to know the word Skårfast is composed of two words: skår + fast = skårfast In this context, skår – a noun - means a steep mountain or...
Childhood Christmas memories from northern Norway
This post is based on the childhood memories of Othilie Johnsen, born 1894 in Kiby, Finnmark, Thomas Johansen, born 1883 in Kvalnes, Nordland, and...
James Arness | Western hero and Norwegian Viking
American television hero Through his portrayal of iconic US television characters, such as Marshal Matt Dillon in Gunsmoke and Zeb Macahan in How...
Folk medicine | As used by the Norwegians
Long before doctors Long before doctors and modern-day laboratories, our ancestors used plants and other natural remedies to help cure their...
Queen Maud of Norway | Alexandra was her mother
Alexandra was born on 1 December 1844, at the Yellow Palace - Det Gule Palæ - in Copenhagen. She was the second of six children born to Christian...
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...
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...
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...
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...
The old Norwegian farm | Its land and surroundings
A land of plenty With her elongated shape and her position on the world map, Norway has a great many variations in landscape, tradition and...
Norway has the second longest coastline in the world
From Sweden to Russia In the south, Norway’s coastline begins at the border with Sweden, in the region of Østfold, in the very south-eastern corner...
Budrått | Means milk products in Norwegian
Pronunciation Budrått The grammar A compound word made up of: bu + drått | noun | masculine | the indefinite form: en budrått (a budrått) | 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...