Otternes is a Norwegian linear and cluster collective
farmyard
A barnyard or farmyard is an enclosed or open yard adjoining a barn,Oxford English Dictionary Second Edition on CD-ROM (v. 4.0) © Oxford University Press 2009. Barn. n. and, typically, related farm buildings, including a farmhouse. Enclosed ...
midway between
Aurland
Aurland () is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in the Counties of Norway, county of Vestland, Norway. It is located on the south side of the Sognefjorden in the Districts of Norway, traditional district of Sogn. The administrativ ...
and
Flåm
Flåm () is a village in the Flåmsdalen valley which is located at the inner end of the Aurlandsfjorden, a branch of Sognefjorden. The village is located in Aurland Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. In 2014 its inhabitants numbered 350. ...
in
Vestland
Vestland is a Counties of Norway, county in Norway. The county is located in Western Norway, and its administrative centre is Bergen, where the executive and political leadership is based. The County governor (Norway), County Governor is based in ...
County. The farmyard consists of 27 buildings.
History
Evidence shows settlements from about 300 A.D. The oldest buildings, Guttormstova and Eilertstova were built about 1700. The land redistribution reform in the 1860s were not implemented in Otternes, where the allocation of strip of fields lasted until 1987. Otternes consisted originally of four farms: Tomas Farm, Guttorm Farm, Odda Farm and Anders Farm. In the 19th century, about 30 people lived there in the farmplace. The two remaining farms were run in the traditional fashion until 1970. Otternes has thus been hardly affected by the passage of time, and some of is buildings appear more or less as they did in the 18th century. The cultivated landscape remains essentially intact with hills, stairs, stone walls, wells, etc.
Otternes has been without residents since 1996. As a result of its historic flavor, the locale has therefore been a setting for several film productions.
Today Otternes serves as a rural museum and a centre for traditional crafts. It is also used for traditional activities as
spinning
Spin or spinning most often refers to:
* Spin (physics) or particle spin, a fundamental property of elementary particles
* Spin quantum number, a number which defines the value of a particle's spin
* Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thr ...
,
weaving
Weaving is a method of textile production in which two distinct sets of yarns or threads are interlaced at right angles to form a fabric or cloth. Other methods are knitting, crocheting, felting, and braiding or plaiting. The longitudinal ...
, thin wafer crispbread (flat bread) baking,
yarn
Yarn is a long continuous length of interlocked fibres, used in sewing, crocheting, knitting, weaving, embroidery, ropemaking, and the production of textiles. '' Thread'' is a type of yarn intended for sewing by hand or machine. Modern ...
dyeing
Dyeing is the application of dyes or pigments on textile materials such as fibers, yarns, and fabrics with the goal of achieving color with desired color fastness. Dyeing is normally done in a special solution containing dyes and particular ...
,
ale
Ale is a style of beer, brewed using a warm fermentation method. In medieval England, the term referred to a drink brewed without hops.
As with most beers, ale typically has a bittering agent to balance the malt and act as a preservative. Ale ...
brewing and a variety of other exhibitions in the summer.
Image:2006_05_14_Otternes_011.jpg, Otternes Seen from north. Cluster collective farmyard.
Image:2006_05_14_Otternes_023.jpg, Linear collective farmyard.
Image:2006_05_14_Otternes_014.jpg, Linear collective farmyard.
See also
*
Strip farming in Norway
Norwegian strip farming is a variation on the agricultural open field system practiced in much of the rest of Europe from medieval to modern times. In collective farmsteads where every farmer owned or rented a part of the farm, the properties beco ...
External links
Otternes bygdetun
{{authority control
Villages in Vestland
Farms in Vestland
Historic farms in Norway