Støyl and Sæter

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 is it actually all the same. The answer can be very short; Yes, sort of now, but not before.

A Støyle (steule) is known as a group of small cabins on a somewhat remote piece of land. You usually find them higher in the mountains. Anyone who knows 'Heidi's grandfather in the mountains' can form the picture. These cabins often look like small sheds with a bed/sofa, a chair and a stove. Some are on the verge of collapse while others have been very well maintained and modernized and are now used as holiday homes. In general, they are placed in a somewhat spacious layout on an area of ​​open grass. But there are also places where they are neatly placed in a row, all with a view to the same side. There is a great diversity of architectural styles that can often be linked to the time in which the cabin was built. For example, a cabin built just after a war may contain some thick cardboard due to the lack of material. From the subsequent period you will see more painted exterior walls. And do pay attention to the materials used for the chimneys. In all cases there will also be water near a Støyle and there isn't much activity. There may be a cow walking around here and there, or a few sheep, but you will not easily encounter a large crowd of people.

There is always a path to it. Sometimes you can only go on foot, sometimes partly by car and then on foot. Sometimes a bumpy cart track, sometimes a beautiful gravel path.

Nowadays people charge tolls for the maintenance of these types of private roads. This happens at the small 'bom-stations' at the beginning of such a road. Often in the shape of a letterbox, sometimes in a small covered cubicle, which requires a few crowns. This can usually be done in cash, in an envelope on which you also write the date and license plate number, but it is becoming increasingly common to see people working with cameras and apps. Some have a real payment device. Insert your debit card and the gate opens.

Once through the gate, a world of quietness opens up for you, mixed with a bit of off-road feeling. Safari in the north ?  Often the road is very doable with a normal car, but you do need to 'know' your car. We have already been on a small road with our minivan, where turning around on the road had to be performed, next to an almost straight-up mountain on one side, and the opposite version on the other. Fortunately, the thing had a very short distance between the axles, so after several movements, the van had its nose facing the other way again, but it can happen to you. That, or backwards, the whole road. So go for it, but be prepared. 

A little history.....

Once upon a time there was a farmer who had some cows.

This farmer will have a farm with a piece of grassland. The grass can be harvested in the summer to feed the cows in winter, but only if it is not all eaten in the summer. That is why the farmer sends his cows into the mountains during summertime, to a place where the snow has melted and there is plenty fresh green to eat. One thing though, the cow had to be milked, plus there was a lot of work to do on the farm. So that required a strategic spot. Not too far from home, enough green gras for the cow, water nearby for drinking and washing. Short said, a milking parlor within walking distance of the farm. Milking in the evening, then the 'milker' stayed there to sleep so that milking could begin again the next morning. Then the milk was taken to the farm. Such a milking-and-sleep spot is called a Støyl.

But did this place also have a space where the milk could be processed into cream and, for example, butter and cheese? Then it was called a Sæter. People stayed there much longer. 

The layout of the house that was built in these places often consisted a living area on one side, where people could sleep and cook, and a part that was related to the work that was being done. Such a house is called a Sel.

In the part of the Sel where people could spend the night, there was often a fire pit for cooking. Due to a fire hazard, it was often built against the outside wall. Maybe that's why, but this part of the house is called Utsel. The part that was more work-related was called Innsel or Melkesel, where the milk was immediately processed.

There are also Selen where mown grass was stored for fodder in the winter. This was because they found out that part of the winter it could also be more pleasant and warmer in the mountains than down in the valley. 

Because people increasingly lived there for part of the year, more and more cabins and sheds were added. It could be that the farmer's neighbors also built their own Uthus (translation: country house) on the same spot.

--Just to clear up, or not, the confusion...an Uthus (uuthuus) is a residential facility and not an outdoor poop box. Such a thing is called a Utedo (uutedoe).--

Quite a bit has been written about how old the Støyl or Seter phenomenon actually is, and there are even more different opinions. Was it the Vikings who used these places to hunt from? Or was it the iron mining that created the clearings in the forest? Maybe both? 

Norway, like any country with mountains, has its fair share of places like this. Generally speaking, you will find most Støylen in Vestlandet, Agder and Telemark and Sæters in the other parts of the country. Only a small number of Sæters is actually still in use.

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