Fågelsjö Gammelgård is a well-preserved cultural environment dating back to Finnish immigration
in the 17th century. The forest Finns who settled in Fågelsjö around 1670 had already lived in
Sweden for two generations and came closest from Tandsjöborg, about 15 km south of Fågelsjö.
And The village is located in the borderland between Dalarna, Hälsingland and Härjedalen.
It belonged to about 1840 to Mora parish and is there in the church books under the heading "Mora Finnmark".
After a short period of affiliation with Sveg, Fågelsjö was taken in 1856 to Loos parish, which was formed about ten years earlier. Since then, Fågelsjö belongs to Gävleborg County, even though the village is located in Dalarna. And Gammelgården is an invaluable source of knowledge about building condition, self-catering, handicraft techniques and folk art. The fact that the farm is in its original location helps to make it very valuable.
The farm also includes shelters, attic, bakery and a gunsmith, which is one of the farm's main attractions. The master door's seven different locks testify to great knowledge in the art of forging. Some of the buildings are dated to the 18th century.
Fågelsjö Gammelgård Bortom Åa is one of the Hälsingland farms that was listed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2012. It was then since 2004 declared a building monument by the County Administrative Board in Gävleborg.
History of the farm
In the family for seven generations
Fågelsjö Gammelgården is a well-preserved, untouched cultural environment,
with roots dating back to the Finnish colonisation in the 17th century.
The Finnish slashand-burn cultivators who settled in Fågelsjö in about 1670,
had already lived in Sweden for two generations. Before moving to Fågelsjö they lived in
Tandsjöborg, some 15 km south of here. Until about 1840, the village came under the town
of Mora and it is entered in the church records as “Mora Finnmark”.
The farm was owned by the same family for seven generations. The main farmhouse, a timbered one-storey parstuga, was built in 1818 and was adapted and extended throughout the 19th century. A new master of the house took over the farm in 1822 and the first thing he did was to add a storey to the building. Each generation wanted to make their personal mark on the farm.
In 1895 Kristina, the only heir, took over the farm from her father Jonas Olsson. Jonas was the main farmer and strong figure of the village. Kristina had a long tradition to build on; she looked up to her father and often referred to him when talking about chores on the farm. Kristina married Mårten Persson, who ran a general store in Fågelsjö. Of the couple, she was the one who continued to live in a traditional manner as a farmer’s wife. Kristina remained the sole owner of the farm, which was unusual for a woman at that time.
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Mårten was a man of the new era. After training as a bookkeeper in Stockholm, he returned home and became a shopkeeper with his own business. He was the first in his family, perhaps in the village, to make a break from the traditional way of life. It was a time of change; the forests were now valuable and people started to realise that there were other means of earning a living besides being a farmer or farmhand. Mårten became a respected man in the village. He was a lay judge and was elected to the municipal committee and school council.
Mårten and Kristina lived in Gammelgården until 1910, when they moved into a new house on the opposite side of the farmyard. They built their new residential property in a style that was completely new in the area and that, it is said, was inspired by a postcard from the United States.
The new house was equipped with new furniture and utensils, while all the old ones were left in Gammelgården; the idea was to preserve the farm for future generations. The couple did not have any children, so they left the farm in their will to what was then Loos Municipality. Ljusdal Municipality is the current owner and Fågelsjö Hembygdsförening, the local heritage association, looks after the farm.
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