Finnskogen
Encyclopedia
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
situated in the county of Hedmark
Hedmark
is a county in Norway, bordering Sør-Trøndelag, Oppland and Akershus. The county administration is in Hamar.Hedmark makes up the northeastern part of Østlandet, the southeastern part of the country. It includes a long part of the borderline with Sweden, Dalarna County and Värmland County. The...
, named so because of immigration of Finnish people in the 17th century, the so-called Skogfinner/"Forest Finns"
Forest Finns
Forest Finns are people of Finnish descent in the forest areas of Eastern Norway and Central Sweden...
.
The core area of Finnskogen lies in the eastern part of a small region
Districts of Norway
The country Norway is historically divided into a number of districts. Many districts have deep historical roots, and only partially coincide with today's administrative units of counties and municipalities. The districts are defined by geographical features, often valleys, mountain ranges, fjords,...
known as Solør
Solør
Solør is a Norwegian traditional district consisting of the valley between Elverum in the north and Kongsvinger in the south. It is part of the county of Hedmark, and includes the municipalities Våler, Åsnes and Grue.-Glomma valley :...
, on the border with Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
. It consists of a forested belt of land, about 32 km (19.9 mi) wide. It is adjacent to the Swedish region with similar Finnish immigration, named Finnskogarna. There are also similar forested areas in other parts of eastern Norway, Brandval, Vinger Finnskog of Kongsvinger (Austmarka), Søre Osen, Finnemarka near the city of Drammen
Drammen
Drammen is a city in Buskerud County, Norway. The port and river city of Drammen is centrally located in the eastern and most populated part of Norway.-Location:...
and in Nordmarka
Nordmarka
Nordmarka is the mostly forested region which makes up the northern part of Oslo, Norway. The area called "Nordmarka" also extends into the municipalities of Hole, Ringerike, Lunner, Jevnaker and Nittedal. It is the largest part of the Marka borough. The forests are popular sites for hiking and...
just outside Oslo
Oslo
Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
.
History
Finns, or Finnish people, were encouraged to migrate from the Finnish part of the Kingdom of Sweden to Sweden properSweden proper
Sweden proper, , is a term used to distinguish those territories that were fully integrated into the Kingdom of Sweden, as opposed to the dominions and possessions of, or states in union with, Sweden....
, where they were initially well received by the Duke of Södermanland (who became King Karl IX
Charles IX of Sweden
Charles IX of Sweden also Carl, was King of Sweden from 1604 until his death. He was the youngest son of King Gustav I of Sweden and his second wife, Margaret Leijonhufvud, brother of Eric XIV and John III of Sweden, and uncle of Sigismund III Vasa king of both Sweden and Poland...
(1604-1611). At the time, the kingdom of Sweden covered both Sweden and Finland as we know them today. The migrants were settled on crown lands in Värmland
Värmland
' is a historical province or landskap in the west of middle Sweden. It borders Västergötland, Dalsland, Dalarna, Västmanland and Närke. It is also bounded by Norway in the west. Latin name versions are Vermelandia and Wermelandia. Although the province's land originally was Götaland, the...
and Dalsland
Dalsland
Dalsland is a Swedish traditional province, or landskap, situated in Götaland in southern Sweden. Lying to the west of Lake Vänern, it is bordered by Värmland to the north, Västergötland to the southeast, Bohuslän to the west, and Norway to the northwest....
to occupy the area immediately adjacent to the border with Denmark-Norway.
More were encouraged to come to Sweden during the reign of Gustavus Adolphus (1611 – 1632).
The local Swedish peasants did not appreciate the immigrants, who lived by slash-burn agriculture (svedjebruk
Svedjebruk
Svedjebruk is a Swedish term for slash-and-burn agriculture that is derived from the Old Norse word sviða which means "to burn". This practice originated in Russia in the region of Novgorod and was widespread in Finland and Eastern Sweden during the Medieval period...
), and tensions led to persecution. In 1636 a Swedish decree evicted all Finns who were not registered as taxpayers, which in practice amounted to an expulsion of most of the Finns. Most moved across the Norwegian border into Solør
Solør
Solør is a Norwegian traditional district consisting of the valley between Elverum in the north and Kongsvinger in the south. It is part of the county of Hedmark, and includes the municipalities Våler, Åsnes and Grue.-Glomma valley :...
, forming a colony at Grue
Grue, Norway
Grue is a municipality in Hedmark county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Solør. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Kirkenær ....
. The 1686 census indicates many there were born in Finland, but had been living in Sweden before eventually settling in Norway.
Their loyalties during the Hannibal War
Hannibal War
The Torstenson war, Hannibal controversy or Hannibal War was a short period of conflict between Sweden and Denmark–Norway which occurred in 1643 to 1645 during the waning days of the Thirty Years' War...
(1643-1645) were with Sweden and some were caught spying on Norwegian troops.
In 1709 General Hausmann
Casper Herman Hausmann
Casper Herman Hausmann was a Danish-Norwegian General, lumber merchant and squire. He was born 10 January 1653 at Segeberg in the Danish duchy of Holsten , which was then in union with Denmark-Norway. He died 9 September 1718 in Christiania and lies in a crypt in Oslo Cathedral. He was married to...
so distrusted them that he ordered they all be evacuated from Solør. The bailiff declined to evict them on the basis that they were subsistence farmers and so poor they would have starved if moved from the land they customarily used.
By the 20th Century the blood had so intermingled that it was probably impossible to find inhabitants of pure Finnish descent in the Finnskogen. But in Grue, over a quarter of the place names are still Finnish.