Little Norway

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3576 County Road JG Blue Mounds, Blue Mounds, Wisconsin 53517(608) 437-8211

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12th Century Norwegian Christian Church Replica Photo - Little Norway, Blue Mounds, Wisconsin

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Exploring the Valley of the Elves

by MikeInTown

Leesburg, Virginia

November 1, 2009

Best of IgoUgo As we learned the previous day at Old World Wisconsin, Wisconsin was home to a diverse set of immigrant communities. The Norwegians were one such group. Little Norway is the former farm of the Haugen family who came from Norway in 1856 and settled ...Read more As we learned the previous day at Old World Wisconsin, Wisconsin was home to a diverse set of immigrant communities. The Norwegians were one such group. Little Norway is the former farm of the Haugen family who came from Norway in 1856 and settled in this valley in Blue Mounds, Wisconsin.

We arrived at Little Norway at 9 AM on a chilly autumn morning just as the attraction was opening for the day. The staff, who were surprised to see visitors so early, greeted us warmly as did the cozy fire burning in the fireplace inside the gift shop. Before long, off we went with our guide for a 1-hour tour of the outdoor museum. The Southwest Wisconsin Pass is accepted here.

Our guide was dressed in a traditional Norwegian costume. He explained that Little Norway is the creation of Isak Dahle, a collector of Norwegian antiques. He purchased the farm after the Haugan family gave it up in the 1920's. From that point, Isak Dahle hired Norwegian workers to restore the farm buildings and to add a few new ones in which his collection of Norwegian antiques could be housed. He named the valley Nissedahle which translates to "Valley of the Elves".

Little Norway contains several rustic Norwegian farm buildings surrounding a natural spring that runs through the property. Each building is made of dark wood and blue or white trim. We only entered a few of them during our tour. At my height of 5'10", I often had to stoop down to enter the doorways. Once inside, we saw simple but ingenious wooden furniture that often had dual uses. We saw tools, eating and cooking utensils, traditional clothing, and old family photos. Although we did not climb any steps, I was stunned by how steep some of the staircases are. There might as well have just been a ladder.

Some of the buildings we did not enter were interesting to look at from the outside such as the sod-roof cabin and the storage house that was built on stilts to keep out moisture and rodents. If you look hard enough, you will notice that most of the buildings have a small ceramic elf or two somewhere in the vicinity. We were told that in the old days, Norwegians believed elves protected the farm when the owners were away.

The final building we saw was the most impressive. This tall, dark wooden building whose steep roofs were adorned with carved dragons looked to me like some sort of haunted house. Far from being a haunted house, this building is a replica of a 12th century Norwegian Christian church. It was built in Norway and brought to America to be displayed at the Chicago World's Columbian Exposition of 1893. Many years later, Isak Dahl bought the church and moved it to its present location at Little Norway.

Inside the church are some of the more ornate items of Dahl's Norwegian collection such as hand carvings, jewelry, and fur clothing from the Sami People of Arctic Norway. However, what impressed me the most was an original 1873 manuscript of one of the compositions of the Norwegian classical composer, Edvard Greig.

Our tour ended at the church. Our guide said we were free to explore the grounds on our own if we wished but we had seen enough. We headed back to the gift shop where my mother was on the hunt for the perfect elf to purchase as a souvenir.

From Little Norway, we took a short drive over to the neighboring town of Mt. Horeb to see the famous Trollway. The people here showcase their Norwegian heritage on Main Street where several businesses have large carvings of trolls. We only spotted a few of the carvings and then headed out of town to our next destination.
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From journal Wisconsin: The Farmers and the Dells

Little Norway

by cls223

Chicago, Illinois

March 23, 2001

This unique outdoor museum is comprised of structures demonstrating authentic Norse architecture, and offers visitors an opportunity to view a wonderful collection of Norse antiques. In a little valley at the foothills of the Blue Mounds, Little ...Read more

From journal Caves, Carousels and Cornish Pasties in Southern W

Little Norway

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Exploring the Valley of the Elves

Little Norway