To make sure he could tide the animals over the long and cold winter, the historical Norwegian farmer utilised all available resources.

The hour of twilight is when the daylight starts to disappear – before it is completely dark. In the old Norwegian farming society, this was a time for rest.

In olden Norway, the farm-animals were sent off to the mountains and forests all summer. With them came a herder to guard them, and a maid to turn their milk into cheese and butter.

Skodje sogelag and Louis Giske wrote the history of the two Sortehaug farms and its inhabitants back in 1986.

The Norwegian geography and climate have significant variations. The old Norwegian farm was always a result of its location, and the local availability of resources.

In Scandinavia, agriculture first appeared in the Stone age – around 2400 BC. The early farmers cleared their land by using simple tools and fire.

On the historical Norwegian farm, the skoklefallsday is the last day of planting in the spring. Literally, it means the day that the shafts attached to the workhorse’s harness come off.

Once you start taking an interest in the old Norwegian farming and family history, then the people of the past start coming to the fore.

For more than a thousand years, Norwegian farmers sent their livestock to feed in the forests and the mountains. Today, this way of life has almost disappeared.

The old Norwegian farm needed hundreds of litres of water every single day: for food-making, cleaning, and human and animal consumption.

Langfjordbotn – in Norway’s northernmost region Finnmark – was the birthplace of Oluf Røde, born in 1889.

In 1942, Hans Hyldbakk wrote the history of the local cotter’s holdings in Surnadal, Nordmøre, Norway. The book was updated in 1966.

Do you have trouble sleeping? Here are some examples of how the old Norwegians used Mother Nature’s very own remedies to cure their ailments.

With this old photograph in my hand I have set myself a task: how much information can I find in Norwegian online archives based on what the photo tells me?

Per O. Rød wrote the history of the Stornæve farm and its inhabitants back in 1968. Decades earlier, several children of Stornæve had emigrated to the US.

The Norwegian word for farmer is bonde – which stems from the old Norse búandi, which means a person with a fixed abode – a person living in one place.

On the historical Norwegian farm, winter feed for the domesticated animals was a precious resource. Sometimes it was harvested and temporarily stored far away from the farm.

The wild ocean world of Værøy in Lofoten, Norway, was the birthplace of Mimmi Benjaminsen – born in 1894. Here are some of her childhood memories.

In this post, we take a look at the layout of the Norwegian farm and its surroundings – and how the land and its resources were utilised.

For the old Norwegians, making butter was simply a way of preserving the fresh summer milk – turning it into a type of food that could be stored.

10 July is the feast day of Saint Knut – Knutsok – and marks the beginning of the haymaking season – høyonna – in the old Norwegian farming calendar.