SELJORD NORWAY (Ancestors Kassa, Venaas)
We took the car by ferry from Scotland to Norway. We drove to Seljord, Norway, in Telemarken in the mountains.
Telemarken is the "authentic mountain area" of Norway, where the Norwegian traditions are stronger. The town is a beautiful little community, nestled in the mountains over a river and lake. There are a number of old Norwegian homes, but a lot of new construction also.
Telemarken is the "authentic mountain area" of Norway, where the Norwegian traditions are stronger. The town is a beautiful little community, nestled in the mountains over a river and lake. There are a number of old Norwegian homes, but a lot of new construction also.
We stayed in a charming old wooden hotel, with a large balcony overlooking the town and mountains. I am writing this from the balcony, with the air beautifully fresh. A very large birch tree is in front of me, with the mountains rising about 1,000 feet above me.. Lots of flowers. The charm was lessened, however, by the large party next door that went on to about 3:30 in the morning. There is a large Icelandic Horse Show in Town, and it appears that some of them are highly motivated party animals. And of course you can hear anything through the wooden walls.
The old church was built in 1150. I went to the morning service. I also looked through the graveyard. There were two recent Kassa graves. In much of Europe old grave sites are recycled within about twenty years, so any older graves would have disappeared.
Vik, Norway
The photo above is of Vik, a nice little town on the largest fjord in Norway, with the largest waterfall in the country across the water. I knocked on doors asking for relatives. Turns out we are related to virtually everyone in the town.
The gentleman below is a third cousin Eirik Tistel. He and his wife Kari Marie graciously drove us around town telling us the names of the farms, virtually everyone of which is in our geneology. He is a dairy farmer and runs a small campground. The homes date back several years and he keeps them as a personal museum. He has antique Norwegian bibles, rifles, a bear trap, and a mold to make multiple spoons out of cow horns.
BAGN, AURDAL (families Liffengren, Tronrud)
Bagn is a sweet town about 110 miles north of Oslo on the east side of the country. It is the home of most of the Liffengren / Tronrud ancestors. It is located on Highway 13, which takes you across the country to the towns of Vik Sogn, where many of the Anderson ancestors are located. The road trip between Vik and Bagn is beautiful, following fjords, mountains, and waterfalls. There are several Stave churches en route, and two ferry boat rides are required to make the one day trip.
While in Bagn we visited the Liffengren Farm and the
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| Liffengren Farm in Bagn |
Mrs. Tronrud directed me to the low main Tronrud farm near Bagn. I took pictures of the farm where our great grandmother grew up. The two story white home is perched on a ledge, overlooking a picturesque valley.
The Liffengren farm is in the south end of town, but it took me a little time to find it. Everyone knew where it was, but I had a tough time following the directions. A taxi cab came along, and he gave me directions, which still confused me. So I jumped in the cab, and gave him his shortest ever fare, about 200 feet.
The cab driver took me to a home that he said all the drivers knew as the Liffengren farm. This was confirmed by the sign on the mail box structure that said Liffengren. I talked to the current owner, who graciously showed me a 1904 portrait of the Liffengren family in front of the house. The house itself is a nice two story house, painted red, and it appears that the farm used to go down to the river. Route 13 is a two lane road that appears to split the farm from the River. If you are looking for the farm, locate the red church across the river in the south end of Bang. The home is directly across the river from the church.
The church is very attractive, with a graveyard around the church. There are names of families connected with our family, but in Norway, as in much of Europe, graves are recycled after a number of years, say 20 to 40 years. So there are no graves from our ancestors unless someone paid to keep the grave site over the years, or if there was no need for additional burials.
I also visited the Stave church above Bagn, in Reingly. This is the church that the Tronruds attended.
Beth and I went to dinner with cousin Aslak Tronrud and his fiancee Linda Davidson friend in Oslo. Oslo is a beautiful city on the fjord, with numerous boats coming in and out the harbor overlooked by great restaurants. We had a great time.
SELJORD NORWAY (Ancestors Kassa, Venaas)
Went to Seljord, Norway, in Telemarken in the mountains. Telemarken is the "authentic mountain area" of Norway, where the Norwegian traditions are stronger. The town is a beautiful little community, nestled in the mountains over a river and lake. There are a number of old Norwegian homes, but a lot of new construction also. We stayed in a charming old wooden hotel, with a large balcony overlooking the town and mountains. I am writing this from the balcony, with the air beautifully fresh. A very large birch tree is in front of me, with the mountains rising about 1,000 feet above me.. Lots of flowers. The charm was lessened, however, by the large party next door that went on to about 3:30 in the morning. There is a large Icelandic Horse Show in Town, and it appears that some of them are highly motivated party animals. And of course you can hear anything through the wooden walls.
Food was excellent, and we will be dieting for months to atone for our sins.
The old church was built in 1150. I went to the morning service. I also looked through the graveyard. There were two recent Kassa graves. In much of Europe old grave sites are recycled within about twenty years, so any older graves would have disappeared.
Our Ancestors name from Seljord include:
Jemns Kjetilson Venaas 1742-1831
Guro Steinerdatter 1754
Ole Jenssen Vennas 1787-1854
Margit Thorsdatter Kassa 1789-1854
Jorgen Kassa 1833-1898
We called Olaf Kassa who is the Public Works Director of the County at 35 05 01 97 in Seljord, and by all accounts a friendly and knowledgeable individual, but were not able to locate him. Will try later.
MAKING THIS TRIP
If any relative is interested in making this trip, I would suggest flying into Oslo, renting a car, and driving the loop to Bang, Vik, and Seljord. It is a one day drive between each one of the communities. You could easily do this trip in one week, or take two or three weeks if you want to do a lot more research and make more contacts.