Explore the cultural village of Hjartdal in Mythical Telemark

Along the historic Sogevegen route lies Hjartdal, a village where cultural heritage, traditional food and a distinctive landscape come together. Discover everything from award-winning cheeses and mythical legends to centuries-old farming traditions that are still kept alive today.

A national cultural treasure and living history

Hjartdal and Svartdal are included on Norway’s national list of particularly valuable cultural landscapes. The area is home to a remarkable diversity of plant and animal life, including the rare elder-flowered orchid.

Holm Landhandel is an authentic, restored country store and a natural place to stop along the way. Browse local art, sheepskins from Øvre Funner and mohair yarn from Telespinn, or enjoy freshly made waffles with views of Hjartdal Church.

At Øvre Funner farm, you can visit Funnerfellen, where unique sheepskin rugs are decorated with traditional skinnfellroser patterns. Inspired by ancient symbols once believed to offer protection against evil forces and illness, each design is unique. You can see this impressive traditional craft in the farm’s historic bakehouse.

At Egderudfossen, you can discover a piece of living industrial heritage. Hjartdal Bygdemylle has milled grain here since the 18th century. Today, the millstones are powered by electricity, but the traditional milling method remains the same. Learn about the journey from field to table, buy locally milled barley flour, follow the Myllestigen trail for views of the waterfall, or take a break by the stone-built swimming spot.

Don’t miss Kønnmagasinet at Magasinbakken either. This distinctive architectural viewpoint also tells a story of art history: from here, you can see the landscape that inspired one of Henrik Sørensen’s best-known paintings of Telemark.

Sustainable traditions and mystical trees at Myljom-To

At Myljom-To farm, an unusual and sustainable tradition is still kept alive: harvesting nutrient-rich leaves for animal feed. On the farm’s steep slopes, you’ll find almost 200 pollarded trees – deciduous trees that have been regularly cut back for hundreds of years, gradually developing their distinctive shapes.

At dusk, their unusual silhouettes can resemble mysterious creatures and trolls from Norwegian folklore. It is easy to imagine how trees like these may have inspired artists visiting the area in the last century.

Myljom-To runs courses in traditional leaf harvesting and has created a small museum on the farm where visitors can learn more about the history and knowledge behind the practice. This way of harvesting animal feed was once far more common, before modern machinery and artificial fertilisers transformed farming.

Today, Myljom-To is one of very few farms in Norway where the tradition is still practiced, making it a fascinating place to discover a lesser-known part of Telemark’s agricultural heritage.