The Joy of Family in Ringerike, Norway 2012

Cousin Jorun Nerdalen entertains us by candlelight at

her lovely home in Honefoss, Norway

 In the summer of 2012 I had the privilege of taking my third trip to Norway—the land of my ancestors.  The first trip was in 2000 with Sigdalslag when I experienced firsthand where my father’s ancestors came from; and the second in 2010 with Vesterheim Museum when we spent two weeks in Voss where my mothers' grandparents were born and lived before going to America.

           This time my cousin Shirley Augustine and I signed on with the Gudbrandsdalslag tour from August 14-30, 2012, mainly because its itinerary included places we hadn’t been to before. In a previous blog (2012 Trip to Norway was a Family Affair) I wrote about that portion of our trip.

          The Sigdalslag tour started the first part of  September so we were able to extend and join them for the Sigdal  portion of the tour.  That left us a few days between the two tours to spend time in Honefoss with our cousin and friend, Jorun Nerdalen.  Jorun was born and raised in Sigdal but now lives in Honefoss and works in a neighboring town.   I had casually mentioned in correspondence with Jorun that there were two ancestral farms and a church in the Ringerike District near where she lived that we would like to see if possible.  I had no idea how close they were to Honefoss or if Jorun would be able to take us there.

            Shirley and I left our first tour group at the Gardermoen Airport on August 30 when most of the participants were flying back to Minneapolis.  At the airport we boarded the local Askeladden bus for an hour's ride to Honefoss where we would be picked up by Jorun after her work day.

   

 

The layout of Jorun's condo complex allows a private

rooftop patio and an unobstructed view to each homeowner

Jorun's home is in a unique condo complex which has several six-level buildings cantilevered down a steep hillside-- Jorun's unit is at the fifth level. That means lugging suitcases up four flights of cement steps outside to her entrance level.  The payoff is a beautiful unobstructed view of mountains, lake and horizon and beautiful flowers on the private rooftop patio.

          Jorun had remembered about the family farms I had mentioned in our correspondence and we were excited to learn that she had a day set aside for us to take a road trip to the Ringerud and Bergsund farms as well as the Viker Church in Aadal parish, Ringerike Kommune, where our great grandmother Anna Lee Ellingsdatter was baptized and confirmed.

The Historic Ringerud farm on the shores of Lake Spelleren

 

A framed picture in the house shows the overall

landscape of Ringerud, forests, fields and water.

 

           Anna Lee was the daughter of Elling Fredericksen Ringerud and a pleasant drive over hills and through forest land brought us to our first stop--the historic Ringerud farm.  The farm setting is strikingly  beautiful, with the houses and outbuildings perched  on a bluff above  Lake Spelleren. We parked near the entrance and Jorun went ahead to act as spokesperson and interpret for us if necessary. She found the owner, Inger Lise Grimsrud, in a large outbuilding which turned out to be a hen house.  Jorun explained our mission---that we were visitors from America who wished to see the ancestral farm of our great-grandmother.  Inger Lise, it turns out, takes care of 7500 hens and sells eggs all over the region as far away as Oslo.  As busy as she was she told Jorun that she could give us about a half hour to show us around and we were thrilled.  No need for an interpreter as she spoke beautiful English.  Inger Lise is the wife of Ole Olsen Ringerud who is the 11th generation of Ringeruds to operate the farm and most of them were named Ole.   Ringerud was purchased on October 29, 1695 by Ole Guttormsen Leknes (my many times great grandfather) and the farm has been passed down directly to a succession of heirs for over 300 years.

 

Inger Lise brought out the family charts to show

Shirley and me the 12 family generations on Ringerud

          When the present Ole and Inger retire their son Ole Olsen Ringerud, now in his early 20's, will take over as the 12th generation owner. Inger's husband was not at home and Inger graciously answered our questions, brought out refreshments to the patio, and eventually invited us into the house to view the antiques and pictures.  She brought out her husband's family history charts and we found our g. g. grandfather on the tree as a son of Frederik Olsen Ringerud, although he was not an eldest son and therefore not an inheritor. He ended up as a husmann (tenant farmer)  on the Bergsund farm where Anna Lee was born. 

 

Inger Lise shows us the stone with a hole where the legendary Dog King Ring was tied.

On the right is the modern day King Ring, the Ringerud family dog.  

Inger showed us a big stone with a hole in it which ties to a legend of the farm.  The legend dates back to  Viking days when King Veine (Veien) ruled over Aadal.  Once when the citizens of Aadal demonstrated against him he penalized them severely, and to punish them he sent a dog, King Ring, to be their king. He was placed on the farm which is now Ringerud and allegedly was tied to the stone which still is in place in the farmyard.  King Veine decreed that he who first announced the death of the dog would lose his life.  The story is told that the people of Aadal did kill the dog but it took a long time for King Veine to be told about it. An Aadal  man took the dead dog on his back and brought it to the king. He only showed the dog to the king, and when the king asked, "Is King Ring dead?" the man said, "Those are not my words, my lord." Therefore the man could not be killed as he had not announced the dog's death, so he survived the episode without being harmed.

          As it turned out our visit to Ringerud lasted more than two hours rather than the allotted one half hour! Next we were off to see the Viker Church where Anna Lee was baptized and confirmed before she emigrated from Norway to America in 1861 at the age of 16.

  

The Elling Enger family in America. Far right in front

are Anna Lee and her mother Ingeri.

 

Anna Lee's mother, Ingrid (Ingeri) Østensdatter, born 1808, was the second wife of Elling Ringerud, born 1789, who had eight children with his first wife before she drowned in the Grythe River in 1837. He married the widowed Ingrid in 1842.  Her first marriage was to Asle Clemmetsen and she had two children with him, Christian and Gunhild.  Elling and Ingrid had two daughters together, Berit born 1842, and Anna born 1845.

          Following the drowning death of Elling in 1861 the widow Ingrid at age 53 and her two daughters, ages 16 and 19,  emigrated from Norway to America  and the Spring Grove community in Minnesota where later Berit married Gilbert Gilbertson and Anna married Elling Pedersen Enger.  An interesting side note: Ingrid and her daughters came to America in 1861 on the same ship as Elling Enger's parents Peder and Aase Enger and their six  children. Elling Enger had already traveled to America in 1854. 

The Viker Church in Aadal Parish, built 1702, replaced a

stave church from the 1400's.







Back to Aadal, the Viker Church was built in 1702 and is still in use. It is said that underneath the pulpit are the remains of a bearskin which legend dictates was worn by a bear which was shot inside the church.  The first church located on the Viker estate was a stave church built in the 1400s under authority of the Catholic church. The church is mentioned in records dating back to 1462.  By 1702 the building had been torn down and was replaced with the current church which seats 250 people. The interior is beautiful while the wooden exterior is dark brown and rustic in appearance.  Since it was a weekday we were not able to get inside the church, but it was a thrill just to see it in person and take pictures of the outside and the cemetery.

   

The front of the beautiful home on the Bergsund

farm, located on the banks of the Aadalselven River

          Our third and final destination for our day trip was the Bergsund farm.  At the time of  the births of their two daughters  Elling Fredriksen Ringerud and Ingrid  Østensdatter were living on a small tenant farm which was part of Bergsund. Some historians believe the tenant farm was Lia which lies across the river from the main Bergsund farm. 

Inger Bergsund, owner of the Bergsund farm and her "summer car"
 



When we arrived at Bergsund we first spotted a bright red sports convertible in the driveway which we assumed belonged to someone of the younger generation.  Not so--the current owner, Inger Bergsund, turned out to be a sporty senior citizen, single and retired from a prestigious career in the import-export business in Oslo.  She had inherited the farm in 1951 and before retirement she used it as a vacation home and a place to entertain friends. She told us that the little red sports car was just her summer car--she had two others--and she loved to race! She also brought out refreshments, and we enjoyed our tea in the front yard of Bergsund which is beautifully situated on the east bank of the Aadals Elven (River).

 

 

                         A collection of antique animal traps hang on the side of the Bergsund barn

There was harvesting going on in a nearby field, and Inger told us that artifacts had been excavated in that field  which verified it as a former stomping grounds of a pre-Viking people called the Merovinger. (I must do more research on that!) After an informative visit with Inger and a photo op session it was time for us to be on our way back to Honefoss. Our adventure had taken us the better part of the day and it was a day I will never forget. Priceless!

           However, Jorun was not through with us yet.  The next day when we thought we were just going grocery shopping, she surprised us by stopping at a local museum and prehistoric burial ground not far from her home.

 

One of the huge burial mounds at the Veien site and a replica

of a Viking longhouse where local events are held.

          The site is called the Veien burial ground and culture park which contains more than 100 burial mounds and an unknown number of level graves. The site was established in the Bronze Age, ca. 1000 BC and was  important in the early Iron Age, ca. 500 AD.  A handful of Viking artifacts have been turned up by the plow but archaeological evidence suggests that Veien was not of major significance during the Viking period. Also on the grounds is a replica of a Viking longhouse, and an indoor museum which portrays artifacts and dioramas of life in the area throughout many generations to the present day.

          The following day Jorun transported us to Eggedal where we were to join the Sigdalslag tour for September 4-6 arranged by local historian Sigrid Kvisle.  In Eggedal we were hosted by Jorun's brother Nils Nerdalen and wife Line in their beautiful home on the mountainside overlooking the Eggedal valley.  But that is another story for another day. 

           I recently learned that Jorun may be coming to spend time with me in Seattle this summer. I really hope she does come so can I return the favor  of her generous hospitality by showing her the sights of Washington. Stay tuned!