The Directorate for Cultural Heritage is now protecting the two Forest Finnish crofts Hytjanstorpet and Sollien in Grue Finnskog in Innlandet. The preservations are part of the Directorate for Cultural Heritage's focus on the cultural heritage of national minorities.
Earlier this year, the National Heritage Board protected the smokehouse on Askosberget in Grue municipality and the ria from Revholtet at the Glomdal Museum in Elverum. Now, the Directorate for Cultural Heritage is protecting two more Forest Finn cultural monuments, the crofts Hytjanstorpet and Sollien, in Grue Finnskog in Innlandet. The Forest Finns are one of the five national minorities in Norway, and the preservations are part of a larger effort by the Directorate for Cultural Heritage to protect the cultural heritage of national minorities.
- The depopulation of Finnskogen in the course of the 20th century has meant that many forest Finnish farms have been abandoned, have fallen into disrepair or have been converted into houses or holiday homes. Some have disappeared altogether. The buildings and infields at Hytjanstorpet and Sollien therefore have a very special national value. Thanks to the owners of Hytjanstorpet and Sollien, as well as Askosberget and the river from Revholtet, these Forest Finnish cultural monuments are being preserved for posterity," says Hanna Geiran, National Heritage Officer.
Forest Finnish cultural monuments
The Forest Finns had their own distinctive building style. The dwellings had smokehouses. In addition, each farm had a smokehouse sauna and often a drying house for the rye crop. The Finns mainly settled along the Swedish border, in the area that eventually became known as the Finnskogen. Here, the Finnish population became so significant that the language was used in some places until the mid-20th century.
Hytjan torpedo
Hytjanstorpet is located in Grue Finnskog, north of Svullrya. The site was cleared in 1749, has been used as a homestead and was divided off as a separate property in 1982. The croft consists of eight typical forest Finnish buildings and is still in traditional use. The cultural heritage site is a relatively complete Forest Finnish croft, with almost no modernization. The croft is inhabited and well maintained. The owner still keeps animals on the site and the fields are mowed, which is necessary to preserve the site's biodiversity.
Sollien
Sollien østre is located in Sanderskogen in Grue Finnskog, north-west of Svullrya. The site was most likely cleared in 1758, and has been used by the same family ever since. Together with Hytjanstorpet, Sollien is one of several Forest Finnish sites in the area. These were linked by a network of paths and tracks, and there is still a path from Sollien to Hytjanstorpet as part of the well-known hiking trail «10-torpsrunden». Sollien is a courtyard with eight buildings, including a farmhouse, cookhouse and earth cellar. A special feature of Sollien is the storehouse and barn, where many magical symbols have been carved and painted with tar.
The purpose of the protections
Hytjanstorpet and Sollien østre are well-preserved examples of complete Forest Finnish crofts, with several buildings that represent Forest Finnish building techniques and a typical location in the landscape. The purpose of the preservation orders is to preserve the crofts as culturally and historically important examples of traditional Forest Finnish crofts, cleared in the mid-18th century.
The scope of the protection
Today, there are few characteristic Forest Finnish cultural environments that are well preserved in their entirety. Hytjanstorpet and Sollien are unique in this context. The preservation of the crofts includes all the buildings on the farms, such as farmhouses, storehouses, dairy arches, barns, haylofts, barns, forges, bowls, cookhouses and earth cellars. It covers the buildings' exteriors, as well as the interiors of several of the buildings. The preservation also includes various fixed and loose fixtures and fittings, the surrounding fields, as well as yards, gardens and green areas.
Preservation marking and Forest Finnish specialist day
On Saturday, October 2, at 12:00, this year's four forest Finnish preservations were marked with a professional day at Svullrya Old School in Grue Finnskog. Director of Antiquities Hanna Geiran will speak. The event is organized by the Norwegian Forest Finnish Museum in collaboration with the National Heritage Board.
Two Finnish forest preservations earlier this year
Earlier this year, the National Heritage Board protected the smokehouse on Askosberget in Grue municipality, and the ria from Revholtet, which is in the Glomdal Museum in Elverum municipality.
