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Information about Setesdal from Norsk Folkemuseum:
Setesdal is a valley in Aust-Agder county and is made up of the local communities of Bygland, Valle and Bykle. The Otra river flows through the vallev which is deep and narrow in maw - places, with the surrounding hills reach ing over 1000 meters (3300 feet) abcn e sea level. In the past, Setesdal was fair ly isolated. Rugged terrain meant there was little contact with the coast. Before the main road between Kristiansand and Valle was completed in 1846, peo ple traveled on foot and horseback and had to cross the river at several places. Setesdalsbanen, the railroad line which opened in 1896, was also important in improving contact with the outside world.
Because of its isolation Setesdal has preserved many old customs and traditions. Medieval characteristics were common in folk art and architec ture into the 1800s. Agriculture, animal husbandry and forestry were the main subsistence bases, supplemented by hunting and trapping. Historically, the farms in Setesdal lay up on the hillsides, surrounded by small patches of culti vated land and fields. Over the centuries many farms had been divided, and the buildings of four or five differ ent holdings could be gathered in one farmyard.
The innhus and uthus were separated, often divided into two rows. Depending on the terrain the two rows could be placed at different angles, but the innhus were nearly always placed high er up the hillside than the uthus.
Grain, mostly barley, was the main crop, and from the early 1800s the potato was common. Turnips were also a staple. There was little gardening until the late 1800s. There was plenty of pas ture in the surrounding fields and up in the hills.
The open-hearth house, or årestue, was used as a dwelling house in Setesdal into the 1880s. It had an open gallery in stave construction running along the front, and its furnishing and decoration bore traces of the Middle Ages. After 1700 it became common to add a new room with windows, a wooden floor and a fireplace on to the existing dwelling. This new room became the main living quarters. The old årestue became the summer living quarters or the eldhus for baking, brewing, wash ing and other heavy tasks. Next to the dwelling was the loft, a storehouse of two or three stories, whose gable faced the farmyard. The loft buildings in Setesdal were built on stone foundations and had galleries of stave con struction surrounding the upper story.
The Setesdal farmstead
The Setesdal farmstead shown here is made up of two farms which share a yard, as was common before the land reforms. There are two of most types of buildings and the others would have been shared.
House from Kjelleberg in Valle, ca. 1650-1700
The house is made up of two rooms, the "old room," gamlestog and the "new room," nyestog. The gamlestog is an open-hearth house (årestue) which originally had three rooms; the main room, the antechamber and a small chamber. When the nyestog was added, the wall was removed between the antechamber and the chamber and this became a hall between the gamlestog and nyestog. Stairs led from this hall up to a sleeping loft above the nyestog.The gamlestog is a typi cal medieval dwelling house with its open -hearth (åre), earthen floor and smoke vent in the ceiling.The nyestog, with its fire place, wooden floor and glass windows, represents the newer way of building.The gamlestog was originally part of King Oscar II's Collections. In 1912 it was moved to its present site and the nyestog was reattached.
Årestue from Arnlid in Valle, ca. 1650- 1700
This building is nearly identical to the Kjelleberg open-hearth house, but it has no nyestog.This dwelling house rep resents a medieval style of building with its open-hearth (åre), smoke vent and fixed furnishings, including built-in benches along three walls and a table with a long bench before it.The brugdebenk is a bench with a back and is one of the few moveable pieces of furniture in the house. A bed is placed in each corner next to the doors. Because of their great width these beds appear shorter than they actually are, but short, wide beds were the norm. People slept curled up and used rolled up blankets for pillows. The cooking pot hangs from a beam
Loft from Ose in Austad, Bygland, ca. 1700
The loft is remarkable because of its enormous logs, superior construction and dec orative carving. It was built by Knut Torjussen Helle from Hylestad. The bur on the ground floor was used to store food. The loft above held good clothes and other valuable items, and was used as a guest room and sleeping quar ters in the summer. The bur was also a summer sleeping place for older children or hired hands. The entire upper story is surrounded by an enclosed gallery of stave construction.
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Originally Posted by Jarl
, many intresting Norwegian types though.
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