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A short history of the Geiranger fjord area for the last 13,000 yearsExtracted from: http://www.naturforvaltning.no/archive/attachments/01/58/UNESC033.pdf, page 73-82IntroductionDespite the wild scenery and the steep, almost inaccessible fjord landscape with its high risk of rock falls and avalanches, people have left many traces of their presence down the centu ries. The extent of human activity here has varied with the size of the population, power factors and markets. The traces left today are merely slight imprints on the grand scale of the fjord landscape. Perhaps a pitfall left by a hunter in the mountains, a foundation wall from a former house, or a hayfield with its rich diversity of plants producing variation in the otherwise wooded fjord slopes. The mechanised farming methods and modern infrastructures of the 20th century, which interrupted the natural ecological processes and left discordant blots on the scenery along most other stretches of fjord, gained little foothold on the steep hillsides facing Geirangerfjord and Nærøyfjord. Nor are there any weekend cottages or quays for small motorboats, such common features along most stretches of fjord elsewhere in the country. Even though the traces left by people may seem insignificant in the great spaces of the land scape, they are nevertheless bearers of vast cultural historical value. To a trained eye, they tell an exciting story of the way people have utilised and adjusted to demanding terrain. Existing farms with their buildings surrounded by open infields and grazing land are signi ficant elements in the landscape setting and have high cultural historical value. The landscape and the natural conditions have set the overriding bounds for the development of the cultural history in both Geirangerfjord and Nærøyfjord. Both areas have experienced an approximately parallel development throughout history, even in modern times. Because of their exceptional landscape qualities, both areas have achieved a status as national icons for tourism, which has left its mark on their development in the last 150 years. The Pioneers: Late Ice Age Hunters Time span: Pioneering period 10,000 -- 3800 BP (Stone Age).
Only one definite Stone Age occupation site is known, at Lundanes where Geirangerfjord
and Sunnylvsfjord meet. Flint tools and chippings dated to about 3000 -- 2000 BC have been
found here at 70 m a.s.l. (the marine limit here is about 100 m a.s.l.). This was probably a
suitable site for hunting and for fishing in the fjord.
Agriculture reached Norway in the Late Stone Age, but no finds attributable to early farming have been made in these two areas. However, short distances to varied resources in the mountains and fjords, and a somewhat warmer climate than nowadays, should imply that conditions were favourable in suitable places for combining farming with hunting, fishing and whaling.
Early farmingTime span: 1800 BC -- AD 1050 (Bronze Age Viking Period) Farm names reflecting ancient forms of farming generally indicate Early Iron Age farms established during the Celtic Iron Age or Early Roman Period. Gjørva and Vinje, two farms in Geiranger, include the syllable --vin, which means a flat area or a clearing in woodland, which was used for grazing (cf. the German gewonne = cultivated fields). Maråk, another farm in Geiranger, which directly translated means `the field by the sea', is a similar, old name. These farms also stand on high terraces with fine views of the fjord. Few graves from the early part of the period have been found in the NorddalGeiranger area. A richly furnished grave dating from the Roman Period or the Migration Period of the Early Iron Age has been found at Veiberg in Eidsdal, and a large barrow survives at Vinje in Geiranger. More finds have been made from the Viking Period (AD 800 -- 1050), and they are also more widely dispersed, suggesting that power was originally concentrated but the society gradually became more egalitarian. Mountainside farms along the fjords began to be permanently occupied during this period. An example is Smoge, situated at 275 m a.s.l. beside Sunnylvsfjord, where a richly furnis hed Viking Age man's grave has been found. Expansion and depopulationTime span: The Middle Ages AD 1050 1536
Following the introduction of Christianity and the amalgamation of the minor kingdoms, the
Church and estate owners gained great power and the old class of freeholder farmers disap
peared. A large growth in population and the desire for the greatest possible return from their
properties led to many small farms being cleared in highly marginal areas. At the same time,
the climate improved and better tools became available. The fjord farms were established
during this period, on land that had formerly been used by other farms for haymaking and
grazing. Likewise, many new farms were cleared in the uplands. Remains of longhouses at
Herdalsseter in the Geirangerfjord area may suggest that farming took place here in this
period.
The Black Death hit these areas in the winter of 134950 and probably more than half the population perished. The depletion in the population seems to have been greatest in inland districts. A deterioration in the climate also took place from the 1300s, and this may help to explain why the effects of the pest lasted as long as they did. With the Black Death, peri pheral farms were abandoned, but the original, centrally located farms continued to be worked. The most outlying transhumance farms also ceased to be used, and some ordinary farms became transhumance farms, or their land was just used for grazing or harvesting of fodder.
The new beginningTime span: The Reformation (1537) to 1814Following a long period with a reduced population owing to the Black Death, a strong growth in population took place in the late16th century. Herdal, Lundaneset and Knivsflå are among the farms in Geirangerfjord mentioned in a document from 1603, and many of the abandoned farms were cleared again in the 17th and 18th centuries. However, the land on many of the former farms continued to be used by larger farms just for grazing and hay making.
The population grew until the mid19th century, when people began moving to towns in Norway and the great emigration to America started. Modernity: Expansion and depopulation.Time span: The 19th and 20th centuriesAs elsewhere in the country, both employment in farming and the area of land worked reached their maximum in the 1860s, and then began to decline. The fjords became an important goal for tourists in the second half of the 19th century, and tourism quickly grew into an important summertime industry (see the separate section on the development of tourism). At the turn of the century, centralised dairies came into operation and the traditional cheese and butter production on each individual farm ceased. Farming gradually changed in character from being mixed to becoming specialised in goat and sheep husbandry. Goats became specially important because they were particularly well suited to the steep fjord landscape. Most mountainside farms were abandoned in the first half of the 20th century, and in the second half of the century many of the farms in central parts of the fjord settlements also ceased to be worked. This was a response to the general increased mechanisation of Norwegian farming and the growing import of foodstuffs, which resulted in reduced prices and poorer profitability. The population also dropped accordingly. During the last decade, increasing numbers of farms with road links have ceased to be worked as independent farms, but they have not been abandoned.
Economy, land use and tourismFarming, transhumance dairy farming and utilisation of resources on marginallandEver since the first permanent farms were established, farming in the fjord landscape has been based on animal husbandry and extensive utilisation of large marginal areas for rough grazing, haymaking, gathering leaves for fodder, transhumance dairy farming, hunting and fishing. Corn cultivation has been limited to specific farms. The marginal land and moun tainous areas have therefore had greater value for the working of the fjord farms than the steep fields around the farm buildings themselves. Infields and marginal land The traditional fjord farm comprised infields, marginal land and one or more transhumance summer dairy farms. The infields were used to cultivate corn, potatoes, root crops, greens and grass for fodder. On the marginal land, wild grass was scythed, leafy branches were removed from deciduous trees to provide winter fodder, and trees were felled for firewood. From June to September, all the cattle, sheep and goats were driven to the dairy farms, where cheese and butter were made. The sweet upland grazing gave better milk and meat produc tion, and transhumance farming was very valuable for agriculture. The fjord farms obtained about half their fodder on their marginal land, where they scythed grass and lopped leafy branches to dry the leaves for use as valuable additional fodder. This took place right up to 1960. The warmthdemanding deciduous trees, elm, ash and lime, had the highest nutritional value, but were limited in occurrence. Birch was less nutritional, but more abundant. The branches were lopped to increase the proportion of young growth, and these pollarded trees acquired a characteristic appearance that can still be recognised many decades after leaves ceased to be gathered. In the steep, almost inaccessible fjord landscape, people have always had to carry almost everything on their own back, and a great deal of manual labour was invested on land that was difficult to work. Consequently, over the centuries, special techniques and practical solutions were developed to make the work easier. The hayfields on marginal land were often located in such places that the grass first had to be carried down to the fjord to be taken by boat to the path that led up to the farm and then borne on the back up to the farm. From about 1870, in the last period before the fjord and mountainside farms were abandoned, aerial wires became common, enabling the hay to be transported directly from the marginal land to the barn, or to be lifted up to the farm. The simple wire was an equally important revolu tion in farming methods for farms that were difficult to work as the tractor was for other farms. Along the fjords, people have been more dependent than elsewhere on having good relations with their neighbours, and they gave each other a helping hand to manage to solve many practical tasks in the running of the farm. There are many examples of what were already basically marginal farms being divided to maintain an essential relationship between neigh bours. People along the fjord also had their own signals. A light in the living room window in the evening, or a piece of cloth on the field in daytime, might provide important infor mation to neighbouring farms, which might be many kilometres away, perhaps on the opp osite side of the fjord.
Transhumance dairy farmsEach farm generally had several transhumance dairy farms that were used from June to September. Such farms consist of an area of grazing with a simple building where the live stock could be milked, and cheese and butter could be made. Such farms might be situated up to 20 km from the home farm and at heights of 2001000 m a.s.l. The dairy products were carried down to the home farm once a week.Transhumance dairy farms were vital for exploiting the rich upland pastures which gave a higher yield of milk and meat than the grazing around the home farm. Transhumance dairy farming was common throughout Norway, but was particularly highly developed in the fjord landscape because it was more difficult there to grow sufficient winter fodder around the farm itself. The upland dairy farms furthest away from the home farms were abandoned bet ween 1870 and 1900, but many of the closest ones were used until the 1970s. Nowadays, only a few transhumance dairy farms are still operating in the proposed World Heritage Area. The most important and best preserved one is Herdalsseter in the Geiranger area, which has been worked continuously for the last 300 years and has the largest goat herd in the country in summer. Large parts of the upland area have been used for transhumance dairy farming and detailed information exists about the farms and about their ruins, which can be seen in most of the upland valleys. Many have spectacular access routes which walkers now use as thrilling paths.
Farmers and cottersFrom 1750--1930, the fjord settlements were dominated by two social groups, farmers and cotters. A cotter was a person who had a leasing contract for a piece of land and the right to use an area of marginal land, in part for rough grazing. The cotter had to pay an annual rent in the form of money or goods, and was often obliged to work a certain number of days a year for the farmer.Cotters did not pay tax and generally lived in simple, small houses near or in the actual farmyard. On the farms down by the fjord, the houses occupied by the cotters were usually right down by the shore. The cotters often kept livestock without having any significant infield area, and they fetched hay and leaves from marginal land which the farmer did not use, generally high on the mountainside or in rugged, difficult terrain. The number of cotters rose until 1860, when many emigrated to America or moved to the towns on the coast. In 1928 an act was passed that gave cotters the right to purchase the land on which their house stood.
Development of scenic tourismGeirangerfjord has been goals for tourists for 150 years and may be looked upon as national icons for the tourist industry. The fjord is Norway's signature landscape for marketing its scenic qualities abroad and also one of Europe's most important signature landscapes in a global context. Internationally, the fjords may be considered one of the cradles of scenic tourism. The first foreign tourist ship sailed into Geirangerfjord as early as 1869, and since then the fjords have given millions of visitors tremendous thrills of scenic and cultural character. The West Norwegian fjords have kept alive and given legitimacy to the notion of preserving valuable scenery for the sake of its outstanding beauty and its natural and cultural value. In summer, the need arose for horsedrawn transport, catering, overnight accommodation, mountain guiding and transport on the fjord with small boats. This provided valuable income for many people running marginal farms. Tourism soon became an important sideline for farmers by the fjords and, by degrees, the main job for many. The importance of the fjords as a goal for tourists quickly influenced the kind of buildings and other constructions that appeared. The overnight accommodation and the roads in the vicinity had an appreciable capacity for handling large numbers of visitors as early as the end of the 19th century. Despite considerable tourism for 150 years, the fjords have retained their original magical power of attraction, scenic beauty, character and qualities. Some facts about the development of tourism in the Geirangerfjord area:
The fjords as communicati on arteriesEver since the ice disappeared, the fjords have been the most important communication arte ries in the West Norwegian landscape. Because of its location, Geirangerfjord did not have significance until tourism became an important business in the mid19th century (see the section on the history of tourism). However, Sunnylvsfjord was an important section of the ancient postal route between Bergen and Trondheim (started in 1785) and parts of this boat and road link crossed the Geiranger area.
This text has been extracted from: http://www.naturforvaltning.no/archive/attachments/01/58/UNESC033.pdf
page 73-82
| Last updated April 15th 2006 |
Hunters began to utilise inland districts as the ice retreated some 10,000 years ago. The
presence of extensive systems of pitfalls and other means of trapping wild reindeer, disper
sed across the mountains, demonstrates that these creatures were an important quarry for
Stone Age hunters, and finds of arrows and other relicts dating from younger periods show
that such sites continued to be used through to the Middle Ages, and probably up to the 17th
century.
During the Bronze Age, the people living in Norway shifted from being nomadic or semi
nomadic to having permanent settlements. Some of the camp sites that were regularly used
became permanent settlements and farms. These, in turn, gradually developed into hamlets
and villages as the population grew and the original farm was divided into several farms.
Place names and the location of settlements in the landscape are important sources that help
to explain the earliest history of settlement in the countryside. The first settlements or farms
have names associated with the landscape, and they generally had prominent locations. Dale
(dal = valley) was the name of the original farm from which both Norddal and Eidsdal, two
modern settlements beside Norddalsfjord, grew. Dale has a strategic position on a high sand
and gravel terrace, easily visible from the fjord. 
In the Migration Period, it seems there was no longer space for further expansion in outer
coastal districts, where land suitable for farming was limited relative to the growth in the
population that apparently took place as the Iron Age progressed. As available land in the
middle part of the fjord districts also became occupied, people moved on to the innermost
arms of the fjords in search of land to cultivate. Since the good agricultural areas in Eidsdal,
Norddal and Geiranger were already well established, judging by the richly furnished gra
ves found there, the new immigrants had to clear areas that were marginal for agriculture.
Place names related to the Viking Period confirm this. Farms containing --set in their name
were originally transhumance summer dairy farms that eventually became permanently
occupied. Engeset and Furset in Stranda, and Årset, Haugset and Ørjasæter in Geiranger are
such examples.
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