Week 38 - Norwegian Folk Museum by Eva Pérez

Eva Pérez Abril

NORWEGIAN FOLK MUSEUM

 

The Norwegian Folk Museum is an open-air museum located in Bygdø, Oslo. It was founded by Hans Aall in 1894 and it was moved to Bydøg in 1902. The museum displays the history and culture of the different regions of Norway through 155 houses. It is also there the wooden Gol church from the year 1200.

 

The aim was to show "how our fathers lived and toiled, how they struggled against the unforgiving land and harsh conditions, cultivated the land, brought home the fish, traded, carried on their crafts, lived and dressed, brought up their children; and how their spiritual life was affected by the changing times, what they thought and what they believed". 

 

Another aim of the exhibition was to "give an impression of the cultural history of the town from the year 1500 to 1950” and included furnished rooms from different periods and social strata, concluding with a thoroughly modern living room.

 

In the open-air museum, large green areas provide space for 160 historic buildings, among them the 13th century Gol Stave Church. Here you can walk between parts of the country and from town to country and explore everyday life in Norway over the centuries. Courtyards from different regions are set amidst environments with pastures, livestock and ski farms and show the historical life of the country. 

 

It is possible to see rural areas with farmhouses showing how life in these areas used to be in the past, as well as showing the evolution that took place in these areas during the 1940s and 1950s, when many comforts became available.

 

I have tried to explain how Norwegians lived at this time by telling a little story as you look around the museum. Many of the things I say are what the guide explained to us during the visit to the museum.

The URL to the documentary is: https://youtu.be/4fXcCy-fTvo

 

“Once upon a time, around the year 1500, there was a large family living in a tiny cottage in a small village in Norway. In this family were living 6 children together with their parents, who struggled day by day to cope with the adversities that life put in front of them.

 

During this time, life was not easy as they had to live in small wooden cabins where it was difficult to keep warm and survive. Most of the roofs of the houses were covered with grass, as they did not have enough money to build them as necessary.

 

A large part of the population died because for some reasons. One was because they did not have enough food to meet their needs. Also, certain diseases that could kill you were very common and there was no shelter. It is true that they were surrounded by farms with lots of animals from which they could make a profit to eat. But it was not enough.

 

However, this family did their best to stay together, to fight the evil spirits and to keep the Christian faith.

 

Finally, they were able to survive and live happily ever after.”