Durango semi-weekly herald., 1901-08-19
NoRwAY's RURAL LIFE.
Charms of the Peasant Farmers Ex
istenoe Told by William E.
Curtis.

NYSTUEN. Norway. July 12.-
(William t. Curtis in Chicago Record
Herald). Many of the farms in this
part of Norway have been cultivated
for thousand years. The buildings
some of them are seven and eight hun
dred years old. Anything built
within century or two is considered
modern. The other day an English
man who was looking at house to
rent for the fishing season complain
ed that it was too old. The owner
was astonished at such presumption.
and assured him that every building
on the place had been erected since
1915. But they are built to stay.
At Borgund, few miles west of this
place. is church that was built in
1850 or earlier. The antiquarians
cannot determine the exact date, and
il is recorded in the official records
OF the diocese as far back as 1860
They are carefully preserved for all
the intervening years. 1t is a singu-
lar piece of architecture. but there are
twenty or more in Norway like it,
although | believe this is the best
preserved. 1t is built of logs thickly
covered with tar both on the inside
and the outside, which accounts for its
pl eservation. The interior consists
of nave and aisles, with twelve col
umns, choir and semi circular apse
When the doors are shut the interior
is in almost total darkness, as light
is admitted only through tiny open
nj he of In
dome. The use of window glass was
unknown in Norway at the time of it's
erection and the service probably con
sisted solely of the mass, chanted by
candlelight, while the congregation
knelt devotly in the dark nave. Be
side the entrance are two runic in
soriptions. carved in the logs in beau
tiful lettering. One of them reads
"Thorer wrote these lines on st. Olaf's
Fair" and the other This church
stands on holy ground
These timber churches are peculiar
in Norway. although in Russia there
are similar ones. They are called
stavel,irker," and generally date as
far back as the twelfth century. The
body of the church is surrounded by
narrow cloister, and the dome is form
ed of series of wooden roofs, with
gables and square towers. which usu-
ally terminate in "a slender tower.
The tips of the gables and towers are
ornamented with grotesque dragons.
gargoyles and other fantastic figures
Some of the "statvekirker" on the
coast are ornamented with the prows
OF ships extending from the roofs.
The capitals of the columns the doors
and the window and door frames are
covered with elaborate carvings of
foliage and figures. The cloister or
arcade, extending around the build
ing, was probably intended both for
the protection of the foundation
against the weather and also as a
waiting for their conveyances at the
close of the service.
Within the church are some curl
Gus old relics, including wooden
contribution box that has hung from a
pillar for centuries and a baptismal
font which is cut out of solid block
of stone. The top of the altar is
slab of slate, rudely trimmed; the al
tar piece is representation of the
crucifxion, done by an unskilled hand,
also several centuries old, and beside
it. hanging from the wall, is cup
board used for the communion service
and other articles of worship. There
is pungent odor of tar about the
place which is not disagreeable.
Near by is large bell tower con
tanning two very old bells. One of
them is ascrihed to st. Lawrence but
bears no date. The parish records
say, however, that it was cast in the
18th century. Within few feet is
a very modern church-spick, span
and new-which offers a striking con
trast to the old one.
The foundations of all the ancient
Norway buildings are of heavy stone,
some of them five or six feet thick
The timbers of both the barns and
houses are of the full size of the tree
squared off. The roofs are of slate
trimmed by hand. half or three-quar
ters of an inch thick, and they are at
times tiles of baked clay resembling
those of Spain and Italy. The poorer
classes of cabins, especially those that
cling to the mountain sides, are
matched with straw or have dirt
roofs-a covering of boards and then
covering of earth and sod a foot
or eighteen inches thick. At this
time of the year they are usually Gov
cred with beautiful flowers. 1t is
not really good form, but it is exceed
ingly picturesque to have flower gar
den on top of your house. and it adds
so much to the attractiveness of the
Norwegian landscape.
Horticulture does not play promi-
nent part among the agricultural in
dustries of Norway but in every farm
and garden you find apples. pears,
cherries, currants, gooseberries. rasp-
berries and other large and small
fruits. which, like the flowers. have a
more pronounced flavor and strong
er aroma than the same species cult
waited in mllder climates The cher
.