Finnskogen has many hiking trails and Norwegian Trekking Association cabins that you can explore on ut.no. One route that is of interest if you want to learn more about Forest Finn culture is the 7-Torp Trail. It is an 8 km circular hike starting from the DNT cabin Lebiko, east of Møkeren.
Read more about the Forest Finns further down in the article.
The route takes you to 7 old crofts on both the Norwegian and Swedish sides. The first were established in the late 17th century. The oldest buildings are probably gone, but were replaced by newer ones in the 19th century. Some of the homes and outbuildings are open.
The hike is easy, following pleasant forest trails through old-growth woodland. The trails are the old routes that once ran between the smallholdings. There are no signs of clear-cut areas. When you go walking in the forest, it is usually because you want to see forest. Unfortunately, some of the hikes in Finnskogen have been ruined by logging. Instead of old trees, you are met by piles of branches, thickets of birch, and deep wheel ruts left by forestry machinery. So before setting out, it is wise to study not only the map but also aerial photographs to check the route.
5 of the crofts are in Sweden, 2 in Norway. There are information boards along the way where you can read about the history of the places.
Statskog owns the forests in the area. This is a major advantage, as they allow driving on the forest roads, so you do not have to deal with barriers everywhere. You can drive almost all the way to Lebiko. Alternatively, you can start on the Swedish side, at Lake Lomsen, where there is parking.
The Møkeren area has many places where you can camp, either in your car or in a tent.
Read about it here:Wild camping in Finnskogen – without the crowds
Lebiko
Lebiko is a relatively new croft in the context of the Finnskog region, probably dating from around 1840. Today, it is a Norwegian Trekking Association (DNT) cabin.
If you choose the northern trail from Lebiko, you will walk across flat terrain through pine heathland and spruce forest. The trail is dry and pleasant, with boardwalks over a few wet sections. Soon you will reach the border with Sweden, followed by the Kissalamp croft.
Kissalamp
Kissalamp dates back to the 1780s, and the house is open but beginning to fall into disrepair. Inside, you will find old newspapers and comic books, and in the attic, old tools. During the war, many refugees passed through the farm.
Valli
The next stop is Valli. The houses are gone here, and a root cellar and a few foundation walls are all that remain.
Ritamäki
Ritamäki is the most complete of the crofts. The area around the croft is a protected nature reserve. The surrounding fields are mown to keep the landscape open, rather than becoming overgrown like those around the other crofts. Many of the old buildings are still standing, and there is an intact smoke oven in the dwelling house. If it is locked, you can see it by looking through the window on the west wall. Ritamäki was inhabited until 1964, making it one of the last crofts on Finnskogen.
Lomsen
From Ritamäki, the trail descends along a wide path towards Lake Lomsen. The path is an old cart track, built up with stone in many places, but it is now quite overgrown. Especially across the marsh by Lomsen, it is clear how they built up the road with stone embankments.
Along the Lomsen, follow the road for a short distance before turning back into the forest at Lomstorp, heading towards the Svartbäcken croft. The narrower trail climbs a bit at first, but gradually levels out.
Svartbäcken
Svartbäcken is used as a summer retreat, and the trail has been rerouted around it, so there is not much to see here.
Østerby
Just across the border, you come to Østerby. The first thing you see is a huge barn, bearing witness to the fact that there was once a large farm here. It was in operation until the 1970s, but now all the fields are overgrown. Only a few dilapidated hay barns in the landscape show where farming was once carried out.
After just under a kilometre, you are back at the starting point, at Lebiko.
About the Forest Finns
Finnskogen stretches across the border between Norway and Sweden and is known for having been home to the Forest Finns, an ethnic group of Finnish immigrants. In the 17th century, in the wake of Sweden’s era as a great power, many Finns began migrating from the Savo region of Finland to Sweden and Norway. This was largely a result of overpopulation and difficult living conditions in Finland. King Charles IX of Sweden encouraged this migration in order to settle unused forest areas and increase the kingdom’s resources.
The Forest Finns brought with them a special farming method called slash-and-burn agriculture. This was a form of farming in which they burned down large areas of forest to grow rye. Slash-and-burn agriculture made use of the nutrient-rich ash left after the fires, which produced very good harvests for several years. After a few years, however, the soil was depleted, and they had to burn new forest areas to continue farming. This method required large areas of land and a steady supply of forest to burn.
Another distinctive feature of the Forest Finns was the smoke cabins, a type of dwelling with a large central stove without a chimney. Smoke from the stove was directed into the living room itself and eventually escaped through cracks in the roof and walls. This type of building retained heat well in winter and was well suited to the cold conditions in the forests. Since the smoke settled beneath the roof, it was still habitable inside.
As Norway began to develop its timber industry in the 17th and 18th centuries, resistance to slash-and-burn agriculture grew. Forests gained increasing economic value due to timber exports, particularly to England and the Netherlands. Eventually, restrictions and bans on slash-and-burn agriculture were introduced, forcing many Forest Finns to change their way of life or move on.
Despite this resistance, many Forest Finns held on to their culture and traditions for a long time, even as they gradually became more integrated into the Norwegian and Swedish populations. The smoke cabins and the use of slash-and-burn agriculture are important symbols of the unique cultural heritage they have left behind.
In addition to Finnskogen, many Forest Finns also settled elsewhere in Norway, including Toten and Finnemarka. These areas, located inland and with vast forests, were well suited to the slash-and-burn farming culture.
The first Finnish settlers arrived in Toten in the 17th century, much like those who settled in Finnskogen. They settled in forested areas such as Vardal and Snertingdal. Here, too, they practised slash-and-burn agriculture, burning forest and growing rye in the ashes. This led to conflict with the local Norwegian farmers, who generally had more established farms and viewed slash-and-burn agriculture as a threat to their own farmland.
In Finnemarka, a forested area between Drammen and Modum, a group of Finnish immigrants also arrived around the same time. Finnemarka was densely forested, and here the Finns found a suitable place for their traditional agriculture and way of life. Slash-and-burn farming was also practised here, and the Finns built their distinctive smoke cabins.
Read more
If you would like to read more about the history of Finnskogen, I recommend the Finnskogen Trilogy by Åsta Holth. It is the definitive work on Finnskogen. In Svullrya, you can visit the Norwegian Forest Finnish Museum, with old buildings and tools. See skogfinskmuseum.no.
