The “decorated farmhouses of Hälsingland” is a World Heritage designation
that covers a large area encompassing a concentration of large wooden
farmhouses and associated farm buildings that reflect the best and most
representative of the decorated farmhouses. Most of the farmhouses closed for the season on Sunday. Ironically, the only one that is still
open is in Fagelsjo, Dalarna Province, not Hälsingland, and was owned by a
Finish immigrant, not a Swede.
Marten Persson was a blacksmith and gun-maker. His skills were very much in demand and
he grew so wealthy that when he built a new house on the property, he bought
everything new. They simply locked
the door on the old house and moved to the new one. Everything is exactly as they left it; clothing, dishes,
rifles, shoes, toys. Mostly
historic homes have been disturbed at some point and then restored, but this
one was ‘untouched’ from the time the last owners moved out until the
present. And not only are the
walls painted in the grand style of the time, they are actually signed and
dated by the artist.
