Aurland Newsletter

Article: Farms in Naeroy

 
THE FARM NAMES IN BAKKA AND NÆRØYFJORD

By Arne Brekke, Brekke Tours

ARNE HUS.  The name means the house or place owned by Arne.

BAKKA. This name is derived from the ON (Old Norse) word bakki, "hill". The -a ending is the dative case ending used with prepositions to show location: "on the hill". In the 19th century it was common to spell the name Bakke.

DREGO.  The name appears to be connected with the verb draga,  "pull, drag, haul". The farm is situated at the top of the Dyrdal (Valley), and it seems likely that the name refers to the trail leading up to the farm on which goods were dragged or pulled.

DYRDAL.  This name means "deer or hart valley".

GUDVANGEN.  We assume that this name had a plural form in ON: Gudvangir.  The first element is gud, god meaning (heathen) god.  The vang(en) word is still in use referring the open space in  front of a place of worship like Aurlandsvangen and Vossevangen. In Gudvangen there have probably been several places of worship in pre-Christian times. The name Nærøy used for the parish and the fjord is assumed to contain the name Njord, who was the Nordic god of fertility and shipping.

HEMRI.  This name is the combination of two words: ON hamarr, “projecting cliff" and vin, "natural meadow".

HYLLAND.  The first element is believed to be from ON Nore hylr,  "a pool or deep place in a river (where trout and salmon would lie hidden)". The modern Norwegian form is høl. The farm is situated by the river.

RAMSØY.  The earliest spelling we have of this name from the middle of the 14th century is Ramsheimr. The first element could refer to a plant rams, "willow herb", but it is more likely to refer to the personal name Rafn. The second element means "home". In all later sources, the name has been spelled in ways that indicate Ramsøy.  In modern Norwegian øy means "island", but in Old Norse, the word usually referred to "river meadow" i.e. fertile land that was inundated during floods. The Ramsøy farm is situated by the river and the fjord, near the entrance to the Gudvangen Tunnel (Gudvangatunnelen).

SKJERPI.  The first element is ON skarpr, referring to dry, poor, rocky soil. The second element is vin, "natural meadow".

STYVI. The first element is believed to be ON stufr, "stump of a tree" and the second element vin, "natural meadow".

TUFTO. This name is dative plural of ON tupt, topt, modern Norwegian tuft, "site of a house, empty lot".

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THE LÆRDAL TUNNEL TO BE OPENED NOVEMBER 27, 2000

The road tunnel between Aurland and Lærdal, a part of E16, the main connection between Oslo and Bergen, will be opened to traffic at 1:00 p.m. November 27. The tunnel is 24.5 km (about 16 miles) long, which is about one third longer than the St. Gottard Tunnel in Switzerland, the world's second longest at 16.92 km. King Harold will be present to cut the ribbon, and his entourage will be the first to drive through to Aurland.  The next issue of Aurland Newletter Past and Present will carry a full report.   Submitted by Arne Brekke, Brekke Tours.

 
DO YOU NEED LETTERS TRANSLATED?

Brit Eddy, who is originally from the Sör-Trondelag area north of Sognefjord, has offered to translate Norwegian letters for us.  She asks that you send copies of the original letters because she doesn’t want to be responsible for the originals.  If you would like the translation printed in the Aurland Newsletter, we can publish them as space allows.  Brit’s address is 213 E. 7th St, Cresco, IA 52136.


FLÅM RAILWAY CELEBRATES 60TH BIRTHDAY

On August 1, 1940, during World War II, the first train rolled up the Flåm Valley. The 60th birthday was celebrated on August 1, 2000 with a huge cake that was almost 10 feet long and four feet wide!

The Flåm Railway has become world famous. It is about 13 miles long, passes though 21 tunnels and climbs 2837 feet between Flåm and Myrdal. The scenery is breathtaking with spectacular waterfalls and towering mountains.

When construction was started in 1922-23, it was predicted that about 23 000 persons would travel on the railway annually.  In July of this year alone 116,600 persons traveled, including many groups from Brekke Tours.

Many of you in the Aurland Heritage group have ethnic roots in the Flåm Valley on the farms Fretheim, Brekke, Flåm, Indreli, Ryum, Dalsbotn, Holum, Gjesme, Bergkvam, Tunshelle, Vidme, Melhus and Kårdal.


Source: "Sogn Avis", August 2, 2000 and Arne Brekke, Brekke

 

 

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