For three days every July, Finnskogen in the South East of Norway turns into a republic. Finnskogen literally translates as Finnish forest, and it has been shaped by migrating people from the Savolax area in Finland since the late 16th and early-to-mid-17th centuries. One of the characteristics of the forest Finnish culture is slash-and-burn farming along with a strong and sometimes mythical connection to nature.
This is our first dive into the epicenter of this culture in a village called Svullrya, where we are soaking up local mist, mushrooms and monologues on a mission to capture some of the rich oral history of this region.
We are hosting an open house for anyone Forest Finn-minded on Sunday 29th of September and Tuesday 1st of October from 6-8 pm. Come and share a snippet of your life, favourite legends and myths from Finnskogen, it might just end up as part of the Svullrya Development Project! Coffee and Finnish chocolate will be served with a dictaphone.
At this point you might just think we forgot something – don’t be fooled, we packed cameras too! Here is the one and only Einar Korbøl in the middle of the middle of the middle, as middle as you can get, in Finnskogen.
