Gloppen has 32 Støylen. A walk to one or more Støylen is therefore very possible.
But what exactly is a Støyl, and what is a Sæter or Seter? Or are they actually all the same? The answer can be very short; Yes, more or less now, but not before.
A Støyle (steule) is known as a small group of huts on a somewhat remote piece of land. You usually find them located a bit higher up in the mountains. Anyone who knows 'Heidi's grandfather in the mountains' can imagine a beautiful picture. The huts often look like small sheds with a bed/bench, a chair, and a stove. Some are on the verge of collapsing while others are very well maintained and modernized, and are now used as vacation cottages. Generally, they are set up with a bit of space on a piece of open grass. But there are also places where they are neatly lined up, all facing the same direction. There is a great diversity in building styles that can often be linked to the time when the hut was built. For example, a hut built just after a war may contain a part of thick cardboard due to a lack of materials. From the period after that, you see more painted exterior walls. And also pay attention, for example, to the materials used for the chimneys.
In almost all cases, you will find water near a Støyle. There isn't much activity. A cow might be wandering around here and there, or a few sheep, but you won't encounter large crowds of people.
There is always a path leading there. Sometimes you can only go on foot, sometimes partly by car and then on foot. Sometimes a bumpy track, sometimes also a beautiful gravel path.
More often than not, these days, a toll is charged for the maintenance of these kinds of private lanes. This is done at the small 'boomstations' at the beginning of such a road. Often in the form of a mailbox, sometimes in a small covered booth, requesting a few crowns. Usually, this can simply be paid in cash, in an envelope on which you then immediately write the date and registration number, but increasingly often, I see that they are starting to use cameras and apps. A few even have a proper payment terminal. Insert your card and the gate opens.
Once through the gate, a world of peace often opens up for you. A bit of an off-road feeling. Safari in the north. The most dangerous roads of....?? No, it's not that bad, and it's often quite doable with a regular car, but do 'know' your car. We once found ourselves on a little road with our minibus, where the trick of turning around on the road had to be performed, with a nearly vertically rising mountain on one side, and the opposite version on the other side. Fortunately, the vehicle had a very short wheelbase, so after several attempts, the bus was finally facing the other way, but it can happen to you. That, or in reverse, for the entire stretch.
A piece of history.....
Once upon a time there was a farmer and they were given cows. This farmer would have a farm with a piece of grassland. That grass can be harvested in the summer to be used as feed for these cows in the winter, provided it is not all eaten up in the summer. Therefore, the farmer sends his cows into the mountains in the summer to a place where the snow has melted and there is enough green to graze on. One little thing, however, the cow had to be milked but there was also a lot of work to be done on the farm. That called for a strategic location. Not too far from home, enough green for the cow, water nearby for drinking and washing. In short, a milking place within walking distance of the farm. In the evening they would milk, and the 'milker' would sleep there so that they could milk again first thing the next morning. Then the milk would be taken to the farm. Such a milk-with-sleeping-place is called a Støyl.
But did this hut now also have a space where the milk could be processed into cream and, for example, butter and cheese? Then it was called a Seter. People stayed there longer.
The layout of the cottage that was built on these sites often consisted of a living area on one side, where you could sleep and cook, and a section related to the work that was done. Such a cottage is called a Sel.
In the part of the Sel where one could stay overnight, there was often also a fireplace for cooking. Due to the fire hazard, it was often built against the outer wall. Maybe that's why, but this part of the cottage is called Utsel. The part that was more work-related is called Innsel or Melkesel, where the milk was therefore processed immediately.
There were also Selen where mown grass was stored as feed for the winter. For not only the summer farms were located higher in the mountains. Even a part of the winter could be more pleasant and warmer there than in the valley.
As people started to live there for an increasing part of the year, more and more little houses and sheds were built naturally. It could happen that the farmer's neighbours also built their own Uthus (translation: outhouse) on the same spot.
--Just to add to the confusion...a Uthus (uuthuus) is a living accommodation and not an outdoor toilet. Such a thing is called a Utedo (uutedoe).--
There has been quite a bit written about how old the phenomenon of Støyl or Seter actually is, and there are differing opinions on this. Were these places used by the Vikings as bases for hunting? Or was it the iron mining that created the clearings in the forest?
Norway, like any country with mountains, has a fair amount of these kinds of places. On average, you find the most Støylen in Vestlandet, Agder and Telemark and Seters in the rest of the country. Only a small number of Melkeseters are still in actual use.
