If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 94

Kariolskyds

The charming postcard shown above was published by Eneret M. (Mittet) & Company, Norway.   The title says “Kariolskyds” or cart ride in English and shows a man and a woman dressed in the local bunad.  It does not indicate which area of Norway but from the basic style of the costume it may be from Hordaland near Bergen.  A Fjord horse is pulling the cart.  This looks to date from the early 1900s and appears to be a watercolor painting rather than a tinted black & white photograph.  The back of the card was reserved for the address while a small space on the front was available for a short message.

Mittet & Co. or Mittet & sons was a well-known publisher of postcards and other materials.  As I tried to find something out about Eneret M. or Eneret Mittet I noticed that several Mittet postcards carry this name.  They published thousands of cards, however, not all of the cards bear the name Eneret M.  I could not find anything specific about Eneret.   If any readers know more about Eneret it would be nice to hear from you. 

Mittet is the name of a small village in the Rauma district of More og Romsdal, Norway.  It has a population of approximately 150 people and is located on Langfjorden. 

See:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mittet

If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 53

Jonsokkbryllup, Aurland, Sogn, Norway
[Summerfest wedding postcard:  courtesy of Lorraine Becker]

Last week the Gimlets and I took a trip to visit my mother’s sister.  She brought out some photo albums and among the things she had was this postcard.  It is more recent than previous cards I have posted on Thursdays.  I think Dick Thompson purchased it in the 1950s when he took a trip to Norway. 

We are well past midsummer but the picture is quite charming from the children dressed up in costume to the dog riding on the back of the Fjord horse.  The dog looks so relaxed it made me wonder if he often rode up there.  The bride is wearing a crown and two of the little girls are wearing the local skaut headdress of a married woman.  The boys in the photo look dressed up but not necessarily in the local bunad.

The caption at the lower left says “Jonsokkbryllup”-- St. John’s Day or Midsummer wedding.  Midsummer festivities have been held in many countries for hundreds of years.  They usually include a large bonfire, dancing and singing.  A tradition from the area near Bergen, Norway (I’m not sure if this is done in other parts of the country) includes mock weddings sometimes between adults but more often between children.  These weddings symbolize a new beginning with the rising of the sun on the longest day of the year and can be held between the 20th and the 25th of June—the Summer Solstice.  The children dress up in the area bunad and get a ride in a horse or pony drawn wagon as seen on the card.  Perhaps the cart ride may be enough of an incentive for the children to get dressed up?  They do look extremely cute.

I wondered a bit why it was called “John’s” wedding but then realized that the birthday of John the Baptist was supposed to have been six months prior to the birth of Jesus.  The holiday is also sometimes referred to St. Hans Day in Norway.  The name Hans is another version of John.  Although the holiday has a Christian name I suspect Midsummer celebrations predate Christianity and were just incorporated into the religious calendar for convenience since the people were accustomed to having it.

The postcard is from Aurland north of Bergen in Sogn Fjordane county.  The white church at the right side of the top card and shown below on a second postcard is called Vangen Church built in 1202.  Dick had cousins living in Aurland but I have not yet been able to identify them.  His mother came from Sogn og Fjordane so perhaps these cousins are from her side of the family although we do know that his half-brother Gjert Didriksen lived in the general area as well.  Dick did mention that he had two brothers but did not indicate if he had met them.  His father’s family came from Rogaland south of Bergen.  Enørett Mittet & Co published both of the cards shown. 

Vangen Church, Aurland, Sogn og Fjordane, Norway
[postcard:  courtesy of Lorraine Becker]

 I thought it was interesting that this church is built in an early Gothic style that shows English influence.  Apparently English merchants used to stay in Aurland and they are suspected to have helped in the building of the church, perhaps even as the master builders.  Two of the stained glass windows, one of the Parable of the Prodigal Son and the other of Jesus Christ, the Savior, were made by the multi-talented Norwegian artist Emanuel Vigeland.  Vigeland was mostly known for his paintings but he did frescos, stained glass, and sculptures as well.  His younger brother Gustav Vigeland was also an artist.  Gustav Vigeland’s famous sculpture garden in Oslo depicts the life cycle of mankind. 

The scenery in all of Norway is very beautiful.  The picture below is of the Aurlandsfjord.

Aurlandsfjorden, Aurlandsvangen, and Flåm
[photo:  Wikipedia—http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aurland]

If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 7

Norwegian Fjord horse and woman from Hardanger, Norway, ca 1900

I have just a few postcards and pictures of these wonderful creatures one of which appeared previously in Postcard Thursday, 6, last week. We have three pictures I have found so far that show our family owned some of these horses.

“Pil” and Lars Stensland at Gåseflå, ca 1905
[photo courtesy of Alf Georg Kjetså]

Here we see close ups of the farm hand Lars Stensland holding on to the Fjord horse, 'Pil' and in the picture below, although it is blurry, we see Notto Mikalsen Hornnes in the wagon with the horse hitched up and ready to go to work.*

Notto Mikalsen Hornnes and Fjord horse hitched up, ca 1870
[photo courtesy of Alf Georg Kjetså]

Lillejordet farm in near Ulefos, Telemark, Norway with horses in the field, ca 1900

Lillejordet was the farm belonging to I.C. Lee's father, Kristen Rollefsen Lillejordet.** Here we can see the horses working in the field with the farm houses and people in the background. There is even a flagpole and flag. Many of the houses and farms in Norway do display the flag in this manner.

Horse and rider
[photo courtesy of Alf Georg Kjetså]

This cropped version of a picture that previously appeared in the blog is a good example showing the size of the horse in comparison with the rider. I cannot tell for certain if this is a Fjord horse. The color and markings seem correct but it is definitely large enough to be considered a horse not a pony.

Fjord horses were much coveted and used on the farms in Norway and are still used today although mostly to haul tourists around in carts or a bridal couple in a small horse drawn buggy.

Current day postcard showing tourists riding in horse drawn carts near Birksdal glacier.

Norwegian Fjord horses are a special breed and are sometimes referred to as ponies because of their size but they are considered horses even if they are smaller than the normal cutoff for height. They are small but very sturdy and strong, capable of carrying a human and pulling heavy loads.

Most Fjord horses are dun colored although there are five shades that are recognized by the breed registry. The most common color is brown dun but as you can see from the picture, Pil, looks rather darker in color, although that may just be the quality of the photograph. These horses are one of the oldest breeds and have been used for hundreds of years as a farm horse in Norway. It is thought that they have been around since the last ice age and were domesticated over 4,000 years ago. They have a good temperament and can be used with harness and saddle. Although the mane does grow long it is usually trimmed or roached so that it stands up in an attractive manner that also accentuates the horse’s neck. The short mane helps to keep the horse looking well groomed. The ears are small and the eyes are large. Their coat becomes heavy and thick in the winter.

Fjord horses pulling sleds filled with logs, early 1900s, most likely in Telemark

You can see how sturdy they are in this picture as they pull a load of logs through the snow. This next card looks as if the photo was taken at a farmer’s meet or fair where the horses may have been judged, bought and sold.

Fjord horses at farmers fair in Telemark, Norway, early 1900s

In the last card all we can truly see is the shadow and the horse’s legs and hoofs but we also see the back of the wagon and a girl in a Setesdal bunad, light cream colors this time instead of the usual dark colors but still with the traditional bands of brighter colors at the waist and at the hem.

Setesdal girl in cart, ca 1900s

I love the look of these little horses. They remind me of the ponies that the Hobbits used in The Lord of the Rings.

For more information and pictures of Norwegian Fjord horses you may want to check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fjord_horse

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Notes:

* Gåseflå is located in Hægeland, Vest Agder, Norway. Lunnen farm is in Hornnes, Aust Agder, Norway.

** Lillejordet, as noted, is near Ulefos, Telemark, Norway. An abbreviated form of the farm name Lia is where I.C. and his brother, A.C. took their American surname of Lee.

The Lees are from my maternal line and the Hornnes/Gåseflå families come from my paternal line.