Lorens Berg (January 18, 1862 – September 14, 1924) was a Norwegian teacher and local historian.

Life

Berg was born in

Kodal Kodal is a village in Sandefjord Municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. The village is located about to the north of the city of Sandefjord and about to the south of the village of Andebu. The village has a population (2022) of 1,059 an ...

, the son of Amund Andersen (1827–1868) and Anne Kristine Sørensdatter (1822–1870). He worked as a shepherd and farmhand as a child, and then as a sailor before becoming a teacher in 1881. He taught at Prestbyen in Kodal from 1891 to 1899. In 1905 Berg published the book ''Andebu. En Vestfold-bygds historie i 1600-aarene'' (

Andebu Andebu is a former municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution on 1 January 2017. The area is now part of Sandefjord Municipality. The administrative centre was the village of Andebu. Othe ...

: History of a

Vestfold Vestfold () is a county and a current electoral district in Norway. Located on the western shore of the Oslofjord, it borders Buskerud and Telemark counties. The county administration is located in Tønsberg, Norway's oldest city, and the larg ...

Village in the 1600s). He thereby started a practice of local history writing that became a pioneer in Norway, based on archival studies and a solid methodical presentation. In less than 20 years he published local history books (''bygdebøker'') about

Brunlanes Brunlanes is a List of former municipalities of Norway, former municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 1988. The area is now the southwestern part of Larvik Municipality. The administr ...

Hedrum Hedrum is a former municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 1988. The area is now part of Larvik Municipality. The administrative centre was the village of Nanset (from 1978-1988; prio ...

Tjølling Tjølling is a former municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 1988. The area is now part of Larvik Municipality. The administrative centre was the village of Tjøllingvollen. Other vi ...

, Sandar,

Tjøme Tjøme () is a List of former municipalities of Norway, former municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. The island municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 2018. The area is now part of Færder Municipality. The administrative ce ...

Nøtterøy Nøtterøy is a List of former municipalities of Norway, former municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. The island municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution on 1 January 2018. The area is now part of Færder Municipality. The admini ...

, and

Stokke Stokke is a List of former municipalities of Norway, former municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution on 1 January 2017. The area is now part of Sandefjord Municipality. The administrative ...

Berg was appointed a

government scholar Government scholar () is a position awarded by the Parliament of Norway upon the recommendation of the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Education and Research and funded directly over the state budget of Norway. The position can be "for li ...

in 1911. He died in

Kristiania Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022, an ...

(now Oslo) on September 14, 1924. He was buried in the Kodal cemetery on September 19, 1924, where there is a memorial next to his grave. In 1952, a granite statue of Berg by Hans Holmen was unveiled at Prestbyen in Kodal. In 2008, a local historical society, the

Lorens Berg Foundation The Lorens Berg Foundation () is a local history foundation in the former municipality of Andebu in Vestfold, Norway. The foundation's purpose is to stimulate local historical work in Andebu and Vestfold. In addition, the foundation is responsible ...

, was established in Andebu.

Publications

*1905: ''Andebu. En Vestfold-bygds historie i 1600-aarene'' (Andebu: History of a Vestfold Village in the 1600s). Kristiania: Det Mallingske Bogtrykkeri. *1909: "Gaarden Aker i Sem. En Gaardshistorie" (The Aker Farm in Sem. A Rural History). ''Historisk tidsskrift'' 20: 232–251. *1909: "Om Jordegodsets Fordeling i Tønsberg Len (det senere Jarlsberg Grevskab) i 1650 og 1701" (Estate Division in Tønsberg County, Later Jarlsberg County, in 1650 and 1701). ''Historisk tidsskrift'' 20: 33–66. *1912: "Om bygdehistorie" (Village History). ''Historisk tidsskrift'' 22: 86–92.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Berg, Lorens 20th-century Norwegian historians Norwegian government scholars People from Sandefjord 1862 births 1924 deaths