Gorningen, Gea Norvegica Unesco Global Geopark

About

Gorningen in Siljan is more than just a beautiful lake – it is a central historical landscape and part of the Gea Norvegica UNESCO Global Geopark. Explore an area that has been a backbone for the rural community in Telemark for over 10,000 years, from early settlement to the proud lumberjack and timber floating community.

Geopark and Early Settlements

• Gea Norvegica: Gorningen is an important part of the Geopark, which preserves and conveys the region's unique geological and cultural-historical heritage.
• Prehistoric Activity: Finds of settlement sites along the Siljan waterway, such as stone axes from the late Stone Age at Austad and Holte, indicate human activity dating back as far as 10,000 years ago.
• The Village Emerges:
  • Bronze Age: Twelve axes from Holte-Kvisla are considered evidence of stable winter settlement from the Bronze Age.
  • Agriculture: Pollen analyses show a transition to livestock farming around 1800 BC. Traces of grain cultivation at Torsholt are dated to 440 AD.
  • Signs of Growth: Finds like the Burial Mounds (Røyser), Siljuhaugen, and the log boat from Lauv mark a rural community in steady growth until the Black Death, when Siljan fell under Eidanger.

From Timber to Tenant Farming (Leilendingsbygd)

• Economic Shift: Timber export grew in the 16th century, but royal sawmill privileges and the sale of the forest to Larvik Grevskap (County) and Løvenskiold-Fossum in the 17th century reduced the local value of the outlying lands.
• Moholt Iron Works: Farmers and crofters in the valley lived as tenant farmers (leilendinger) and paid their rent through services for the Moholt Iron Works, including logging, charcoal burning, and carting coal.
• End of Crofts: Around World War I, the time was up for the crofts (husmannsplassene), and many had to buy or lease their farms, leading to the disappearance of many smallholdings.

The Timber Floating History: Siljan's Backbone

Gorningen played a key role in one of Norway's most intense forestry and timber floating histories:

• The Timber Chute: The historic timber chute between Gorningen and Lakssjø stands as an important monument to the timber floating history that lasted from 1736 to 1969.
• The Core of Fritzøe Estate: Formidable volumes of timber from Siljan and Mykle were floated through the waterway, which constituted an economic backbone for the Fritzøe Estate (Fritzøegodset).
• Strong Lumberjack Community: Around 1910, Siljan was known for having one of the country's strongest lumberjack communities.
• National Organization: The Slemdal Strike in 1910 challenged old patterns and became a national symbol for organization and wage struggles, laying the foundation for the development of the national community in rural Norway.