Some 12 years ago, this place called upon me, and as I said in “About me” it was like arriving in paradise. Now, with Louise and me living here, the more we have learned, tasted, smelled and seen here during the years, the more we have come to love this place.
But, what about the history of Valabærjet, when did the first people start to clear the land here in the middle of the forest, and what made them stop at this place and say: “Here we will settle”? Where did they come from? Fascinating to think about!
These questions got me searching in the local history and talk with the owners of the surrounding forest and land. The earliest description I have found so far is a map from 1781 and at that time, this place was named “Overud Sætern.”
Kartverkets historiske arkiv (1781).
For now, what I have found is that in late 1700 (no exact date, but most likely during the years 1790's), a couple settled here and got seven children. Their youngest son took over the place after his parents, he married and got nine children himself.
This generation had four cows, eight sheep and a pig, and they sowed one “skjeppe” barley (skjeppe is a wooden barrel-shaped measuring tool which held 17,4 liter), half a barrel of mixed seeds and one barrel of oats. In addition, they put three barrels of potatoes on their land.
The house was smaller at that time, and thinking of this family living here with nine children (which was not unusual in these days), it must have been a struggle at times. During the night, I guess it was a bit crowded since they mostly slept together, both for keeping warm and for feeling safe. At that time, there were lots of myths of creatures wandering around in the forest, as they still are ;) You can read more about the myths in a coming article.
In summertime, there was always a lot of work to be done which meant getting up at 4 am and then going to bed around 11 pm. The work outside had to be done. Then again, in the wintertime, they could enjoy a long sleep, not getting up before 7 am and going to bed again at 9 pm. A bit different from today where most people have a 8 hour working day and just go to the grocery store to get what they need, don't you think ?
As time went by, their youngest son again kept staying here and nourished the land, married and got three children, but he died young (36), and his widow and children left. In total, this family lived here for about 100 years, before a new family came and settled. This new family stayed here for two generations.
Valabaerjet 2008
From originally being called “Overud Sætern” this place changed name to Vardeberget after the hill that rise behind our house. Vardeberget is the official name today, via variations like Hvaleberget, Valeberg og Vardeby. This website is called Valabaerjet, like an English version of our local way of saying it, Valabærjet.
But my big question remains: what made the first people stop and settle here on this hill in the middle of the forest? Was it access to drinking water, good soil for farming, safety, berries or wild game? or was it simply the beauty of the place that made them start to clear the land?
I do not know, but would very much like to find out.
Morten