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Forest Finns moved to Dalarna 400 years ago
400 years ago thousands of poor people moved from eastern Finland to
Sweden. Several of them settled in the dark forests in south western
Dalarna. There are still many traces of the first settlers here in
Finnmarker in Ludvika municipality. Here you can also find
impressively many rare plants and unique outdoor experiences.
Poor Finns to Dalarna
Residing in eastern Finland in the 16th century was not easy. The harvest was often
poor, the area was overpopulated and many Finns were compulsorily enlisted to the
Swedish army for the war against Russia. There was immense dissatisfaction. The
offer by Duke Karl (later Karl IX) of six tax-exempt years for those who settled in the
Central Swedish wilderness therefore seemed appealing. For roughly 40 years at the
start of the 17th century, thousands of Forest Finns moved to the Swedish forest
districts, largely from Savolax. In this context it should be remembered that Finland
and Sweden were the same country at this time. The areas where the Forest Finns
settled (far from Duke Karl's duchy) were referred to as 'Finnmarker' in Swedish and
'Finlands' in English. These are scattered from southern Lapland in the north, all the
way down to Tiveden in the south, and across Central Sweden and far inside Norway.
Forest Finns in Dalarna
In Dalarna there are Finnmarker in Orsa, Malung, Rättvik, Nås and Grangärde. The
farms in this folder are from Grangärde and Säfsnäs (previously Södra Nås)
Finnmarker.
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Forest Finns primarily came here during the first three decades of the 17th century.
However children and great grandchildren continued to clear for new crofts, so the
Finnish settlements also increased after this period. Cultural traditions such as
carpentry and language were preserved in many areas for a long time after the first
Forest Finns moved here.
The Forest Finns from Savolax and environs specialised in burn-beating and were
therefore good at cultivating forest land. This was one of the reasons they were
encouraged to move to the wilderness in Central Sweden. Burn-beating entailed that
the forest land was burnt at regular intervals to then cultivate crops for a few years.
The same land could be cleared again only after 30-40 years, so burn-beating
necessitated large areas. Following pressure by mine owners, the State was of the
opinion that the forest was instead required for mining. Burn-beating prohibition was
gradually introduced and covered the entire country in 1647. Tax concessions also
ended. With this the interest in moving from eastern Finland also ceased.
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The newly constructed smoke sauna, Skifsen
A typical pasture in Finnmarken
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Making fields from forests was demanding
Clearing starts by felling trees which then have to be left for drying for one to two
years. The clearing is then burnt and a special type of rye, slash-and-burn rye, is sown
in the ashes. The first harvest is in the following year, thus 3-4 years after the forest
was felled, so burn-beat cultivation required good planning. The slash-and-burn rye
grows in large tall tussocks and could often be harvested two years in a row. One grain
could give hundredfold back.
After the rye harvest, grass grew to hay and later the ground was grazed and
eventually the forest grew. However, good hay fields continued to be used as meadows.
With the burn-beating prohibition, rock was cleared away from the best grounds
closest to the farm to fields. Sometimes farms were also moved to old clearings with
better conditions. The oldest fields are small and close to the farm, merged into the
surrounding meadows. They can be seen in hillsides through field notches in the upper
part and a terrace in the lower, when the ground moved downwards in the hillside by
repeated ploughing. The amount of clearing cairns and stone walls in many places
bears testament to how difficult it was to get cultivated farmland.
Meadows home to unusual species
The pasture on the old clearings resulted in the forest growing slowly and the creation
of glades. Along with meadows and the fixed arable farming, a mosaic of fields and
meadows developed which stretched across the sparse, grazed outlying land forests. A
large part of winter fodder was also collected from mowable bogs. The cultivation
created a varied environment where many species related to the meadow and pasture
could make their home. Species which now only remain in the few areas where
meadows and pastures are still managed. This is the case with several of the places in
this folder where you can find an exceptionally great variety of species.
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Places still have Finnish names
Few places had been named before the Finns colonised the forests. The Finn Forest is
therefore filled with Finnish-sounding names for meres, mowable bogs and clearings
which were important for them. However, in south western Dalarna many of the
names have been translated to Swedish completely or partially. Palahöjden and
Nittkvarn (where Holmtjärn is located) are two examples. Pala means burnt clearing
and nitt or nitty means mowable bog. The names provide some insight into the lives of
the Finns and are a clear link to the area's history. The fact box contains some more
examples of names in the geography.
Unique settlement
In contrast to old Swedish farms and villages with their compact conglomeration of
houses, the buildings of Finn farms seem almost randomly scattered. However, there
was thought behind the placement. Cultivable land was useful so nothing was built
there and storage buildings should be far from buildings where fires were built. The
dwelling-house was a smoke cottage, sometimes referred to as 'Finnish hut' (pörte, in
Swedish) a type of one-room building without windows. The room was dominated by a
large oven. The smoke collected up at the ceiling to preserve the heat and was
regulated by a hatch in the ceiling and dampers in one of the walls.
After some generations the Swedish cottage also became common through a
combination of the Finnish forest and Swedish construction tradition. The Swedish
cottage is often linked to the smoke cottage, separated by a hall. The Swedish cottage
has a fireplace with wall chimney and windows. Even smoke cottages which were
constructed later sometimes had windows.
Another unique building was the tall and square-shaped kiln (ria, in Swedish) which
was used to thaw and dry the crops before they could be threshed. This was necessary
as it was already winter when the rye was driven home from the fields. At the Finn
farm Skifsen, some of the typical buildings are reconstructed. They can also be seen at
old homestead museums in the area, for example, Finngammelgården in Skattlösberg.
[CAPTION AND FACT BOX PAGE 5]
Finngammelgården, Skattlösberg
Examples of Finnish names in the geography
Mäki or mack = hill
Lamp or lamm = mere
Porrå
= brook
Så or so
= bog
Rata
= sallow
Vatta
= raspberry
Hauki
= pike
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Field gentian thrives in Gamla Finntorpet
Current farming is increasingly moving towards large-scale production on an
industrial scale, so it is easy to forget how small most farms used to be once upon a
time. Gamla Finntorpet's dwelling-house and cowshed are from the 50s and was a farm
of standard size at that time. Some buildings are a reminder of old times, but it is
primarily the landscape which reveals slow modernisation where meadows were
allowed to remain. The vegetation is highly varied with several different types of
meadows. Field gentian, fragrant orchis, common heath grass, small meadow-rue,
maiden pink, mountain bugle, spotted cat's-ear, moonwort, hoary plantain and matgrass grow on the dry and mesic ground. Parnassia, quaking-grass, carnation sedge
and club spikemoss can also be found in the more moist areas. A number of meadow
mushrooms which depend on the scythe's mowing and grazing of animals can also be
found here, including some ten crimson or scarlet waxy caps and the unusual
mushrooms violet coral and hygrocybe ingrata.
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Moonwort – small fern hiding in the grass.
Field gentian disappears quickly if the meadow is not managed.
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Magnificent view at Markusfallet
The old Finn settlement (see the image on the front page) is located in very beautiful
surroundings, high up on Pundaberget's southern side. The top farm is located like an
eagle's nest at a height of 350 m, with a magnificent view of the surrounding
landscape. It is a late settlement from the 1780s, but unique as it was not taken over
by the estate. The reason was that there was a country shop here, so the farm did not
have any debts to the estate. Many of the endangered species linked to the meadow
and pastures can be found in the area. The landscape has retained its archaic
character where the dike and headland are still managed in the old way. The area has
a rich flora with the orchids butterfly orchis, twayblade and frog orchid as well as
quaking-grass and milkwort. Mushrooms thrive here in the late summer, with roughly
dozen crimson or scarlet waxy caps as the main attraction. The endangered
mushrooms scarlet waxy cap, violet coral and dark purple earth tongue can also be
found here.
[CAPTIONS PAGE 7]
Cowslip
Butterfly orchis
Twayblade is an orchid.
Scarlet waxy cap is the rich colour of the autumn.
Dark purple earth tongue
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[SYMBOLS MAP]
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Frösaråsen shows the hard work of Forest Finns
Finn farms
Hiking trail
The typical small Finn village Frösaråsen is located high up in a western hillside,
approximately 400 m above the sea. It is not one of the most species-rich areas, but
here you can find many cultural relics, clearing cairns, walls and patches which bear
testimony to the lives and hard work of past generations. The residents of Hån cleared
the ground here at the end of the 17th century. And only the people from the even
rockier Hån did feel it worth the hardship? Traces of how the landscape appeared in
the 19th century are still clear, which can be seen in the maps above. Many structures
are the same and at that time the road had the same direction as now. The plants
included mat-grass, mouse-ear hawkweed, brown knapweed, harebell, bitter vetch,
alpine bistort, oxeye daisy and greater yellow-rattle. The area has been restored in
several stages, most recently within the project Pastures and meadows. Finnleden, a
marked trail, between Säfsnäs and Lindesnäs passes through the area.
[CAPTIONS PAGE 10]
Mat-grass is a rough grass – sometimes referred to as 'finnskägg' (Finn beard).
Map from Laga Skifte 1869
Aerial view 2006 – compare the similarities with the map from 1869
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Nature trail reminds of life in Hån
Hån is situated high up in a western hillside at a height of 350 m. It is one of the oldest
Finn villages in the Säfsnäs-Grangärde area and was established already in the 1620s.
In the middle of the 19th century there were a dozen crofts here, as well as a guest
house and a carriage station. The old settlement no longer exists, but the rock-bound
landscape still has an old-fashioned nature. Hån is a nature reserve with a nature trail
about Hån's history and plants. The trail runs through grazing pasture, so there is a
large chance that you will encounter some of the grazing animals. Examples of plants
which you can see include dog violet, harebell, greater yellow-rattle, heath spotted
orchids and common sundew. Hån is also a good location for bird-watching migrating
birds.
[CAPTIONS PAGE 11]
Heath spotted orchids
Wild strawberries – the berries of meadows and pastures
Harebell and maiden pink
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The beautiful Aspfallet blooms
Aspfallet is a small and isolated Finn settlement, high up on a mountain slope. This is
perhaps the most beautiful and most preserved settlement in Grangärde Finnmark.
The oddly broken ground has hill fields and ravine bases, surrounded by open, sparsely
wooded grounds. The flora is highly varied with species such as spotted cat's-ear, matgrass, quaking-grass, club moss, marsh hawksbeard, yellow-green sedge and
parnassia. A great deal of mushrooms related to the pastures, such as a number of wax
caps grow here late in the summer. With a little luck you will be able to see the rare
fungus species entoloma atrocoeruleum and mealy meadowcap.
[CAPTIONS PAGE 12]
Spotted cat's-ear with the leaves tightly against the ground so that animals or the
scythe cannot come close to them.
Parnassia
Quaking-grass
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Red-listed species in Holmtjärn
Holmtjärn is one of the largest Finn farms of Grangärde Finnmark and has been
situated in the area since the 1690s. There is a beautiful and slightly hilly, open
landscape with birch-grown pastures and small fields around the small croft. A stream
meanders through the area and you can see the remains of an old millpond. Unusual
meadow mushrooms grow on the land, such as honey wax cap, black earth tongues and
the endangered red-listed entoloma atrocoeruleum. The plants are typical for the
meadows and pastures of Finnmarken, with mountain bugle, quaking-grass, bitter
vetch, alpine bistort, sweet vernal-grass and mat-grass.
[CAPTIONS PAGE 13]
The peculiar mountain bugle requires pasturage to survive.
Alpine bistort
Bitter vetch is a favourite among bumblebees. The flower can be added to salads.
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Typical Finn farm buildings are rebuilt in Skifsen
In Skifsen, approximately 7 km south of Fredriksberg, a completely unique, long term
and non-profit work is ongoing to build a Finn farm as it would appear in the 1750s.
The area is one of the first six sites in Säfsen which Forest Finns chose to settle in
around 1620. Since then the area had settlements until the mid-1940s, when the farms
were demolished and trees were planted on the ground.
The association Skifsens vänner works on constructing the typical Finnish forest
characteristic buildings smoke sauna, Finnish hut and kiln but also other farm
buildings related to a Finn farm. Some of the grounds which have been opened have
been cleared and slash-and-burn rye has been sown in. Now the grounds are kept open
with hay-making and some are mowed by scythes. More information on Skifsen is
available at www.skifsen.se.
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Meadows are mowed by scythe in Skattlösberg
In the old Finn village Skattlösberg you will walk in historical footsteps. The feet of the
writer and poet Dan Andersson have treaded the ground here and the entire area is
well-preserved and largely retains the old appearance. The meadows are still partially
mowed by scythes and field gentian and other rare meadow plants thrive here. Late in
the summer several rare meadow mushrooms also grow here. More information about
Skattlösberg can be found in a separate folder.
Orchids and calcareous soil on Palahöjden
(Övre Lövtjärn)
A bunch of Finn farms, referred to as Palahöjden, are located slightly west of
Nittkvarn. The farm Övre Lövtjärn was established in the middle of the 17th century.
Since then some of the hay fields and pastures have been used without a break. The
area around Övre Lövtjärn is protected as Natura 2000. The most species-rich area is a
marsh meadow on calcareous soil with species such as bird's eye primrose, parnassia,
the orchid twayblade and in the edges quaking-grass and field gentian.
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Bird's eye primrose - a moisture-loving small flower which smells of horses.
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Visiting the old Finn settlements described in this folder entails exploring a world you
cannot find in many places. These grounds, which still bear testimony to the hard life
of the Finnish farmers who came here a long time ago, constitute an exciting piece of
cultural history. Now they also offer unique outdoor experiences with meadows, rare
plants and magnificent views.
Aspfallet, Holmtjärn, Palahöjden and Markusfallet are all situated on private land, but
can be visited as long as the Right of Public Access is complied with. The nearby
nature reserves, the village of Skattlösberg and Hån, have similar landscape and are
better adapted for visits. Frösaråsen, Gamla Finntorpet and Skifsen are also suitable
for visits.
All areas which are mentioned, except Skifsen, are protected through Natura 2000,
EU's network of protected areas. Between 2010–2014 some of the pastures and
meadows in all areas were restored, except Palahöjden and Skifsen. This was
conducted within the LIFE project Pastures and meadows.
Are you curious and would like more information?
Please feel free to contact the County Administrative Board or read more at
www.foderochfagring.se
Länsstyrelsen Dalarna, 791 84 Falun, Tel. 010-225 00 00
www.lansstyrelsen.se/dalarna/naturreservat