Summer Pastures (Fäbodar)
The Dairymaid, the Trolls, and the Robbers
Once cramped and lively workplaces full of animals and dairy work Summer Pastures (Fäbodar) have a history reaching back to prehistoric times. Today, they range from active agricultural operations to peaceful retreats, some still with livestock and open to visitors, others abandoned.
The summer pasture system reached its height in the 1800s, though its exact origins remain unknown.
Fäbodar arose from the need for grazing land. The land near the village was limited — the fields were needed for grain, the meadows for hay. But animals couldn’t be left alone in the forest; the milk had to be collected, and they had to be protected from predators. Grazing also had to be managed carefully to make the best use of the pastures.
The solution was the fäbod — a simple seasonal settlement in the forest focused on dairy production. The location of the pasture was chosen with great care. There had to be access to fresh water, plenty of good grazing, and ideally lush hay meadows. Where the land allowed, some fäbodar were also used for crop cultivation.
There were several types of fäbodar. Some lay deep in the forest and were used mainly for grazing and haying. Others were close to the home farm and could be nearly full-scale farms in themselves, with extensive crop cultivation — these were called bodland, hemfäbodar (home pastures), or åkerfäbodar (field pastures). During the 1700s and 1800s, population growth led to a shortage of land and farms. In some regions, the nearby bodland eventually became independent farms through inheritance or sale.
Along the coast, there was a special type of fäbod — the fishing fäbod. Here, livestock care was combined with seasonal fishing.
The fäbod was the domain of women. Here, they lived independent lives — free but also full of responsibility and physically demanding work. The health of the animals and the production of valuable dairy products rested entirely on their shoulders.
The main products made at the pasture were butter, cheese, and messmör (a sweet, brown whey butter). These were used in the household and also sold. In addition to all this work, the dairymaid (fäbodstinta) was expected to do various types of handicrafts. Sometimes, however, family members from home would travel up to the summer pasture. They practiced slash-and-burn to expand grazing areas, chopped firewood, repaired fences, collected dairy products, hayed the meadow, and helped move livestock to and from the fäbod.
Fäbod life developed its own unique culture. The women communicated with each other and their animals using kulning (cattle calls), birch bark trumpets (näverlurar), and cow horns. Life on the summer pasture was also surrounded by folklore and belief in supernatural forces. Animals were protected from evil by stepping over iron. Carving, burning, or painting magical symbols over doors and stalls was also believed to offer protection.
Today, livestock are no longer herded traditionally but graze in enclosed pastures or roam freely in the forest under customary rights (mulbetesrätt). Forest grazing remains an important resource for modern summer pasture farmers. Since few active fäbodar remain, there is abundant grazing. With GPS collars on the animals, it is easier for farmers to know where they are in the woods.
New farming methods, increased yields from village lands, and the rise of dairy cooperatives led to the decline of the fäbod system during the first half of the 20th century. Some pastures remain in use, and on the majority, buildings still stand, even if the land has become overgrown. Many fäbodar, however, have been entirely reclaimed by the forest. Foundations, traces of cultivation, and altered vegetation still testify to a time when the forest was an invaluable grazing resource and an intensely used part of the agricultural landscape.
The significance of the summer pastures (fäbodar) varies greatly depending on local traditions, the period of construction, the farm’s economy, and the farmer’s needs. On the summer pastures of Hälsingland, you’re often met by a small hamlet of low, grey log buildings. Each function had its own structure: there was a dwelling cottage (bostuga), cow shed (fähus), small livestock shed (småfähus), cooking house (kokhus), storage sheds (bod), and hay barns (lador). If fields were present at the pasture, there might also be a threshing barn (loge) and granary (härbre). When multiple farms shared the same pasture site, each had its own set of buildings.
In many places, it's common to find solitary summer pastures with red-painted buildings. Those located near fields, meadows, or wetlands experienced high hay production in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Consequently, the cow sheds were often extended into large barns to accommodate the surplus hay.
Farmers invested the most resources into the buildings on the home farm. Structures and parts of buildings that had become worn out or outdated were often moved up to the summer pasture. This means that the buildings on the pasture sites often have an old-fashioned character.
The main room in the cottage (bostugan) was the stuga, with its hearth. There was often a beautifully made-up bed there, purely for decoration and not meant for use. The dairymaid (fäbodstinta) would sleep in the maid’s room or in the entry hall (farstun).
In the bod (storehouse), cheeses, food, utensils, and tools were kept. Here you would find wooden shelves lined with round cheeses and butter tubs, iron pots and wooden ladles, and handmade tools worn smooth from years of use. Everything had its place — a tightly organized world where nothing could be spared or wasted.
These storehouses, often built raised on stilts to keep out moisture and mice, were central to the daily rhythm of life at the summer pasture. They held the fruits of long hours of work — the milk transformed into butter and cheese, the lifeblood of the summer’s labor.
Through these humble structures and the lives lived within them, the fäbod system tells a story of resilience, tradition, and close connection to land and livestock. Each valley, each wall of stacked timber, carries the imprint of generations of women who worked with quiet strength in the high meadows — and whose songs, fires, and footsteps still seem to echo faintly in the forest air.
The Buildings of the Summer Pasture
Cottage (Bostuga): Originally, no windows and only small light- and air-openings.
Cowshed (Fähus): Timber-built structures in one story without haylofts. They were also dark to keep mosquitoes and flies away. The goats stood either in their own small goat-sheds or together with the cows. Manure, urine, and heavy wear often shortened the lifespan of the cowsheds.
Cookhouse (Kokhus): Could be timbered in the same style as other buildings, but were often simpler shelters protecting from rain and wind.
During the 1900s, many summer pastures were used by forestry workers. These workers insulated the walls of the cottages with cardboard or panels and installed iron stoves. They also built wider bunks for sleeping. Cowsheds were often converted into horse stables.
Folk-lore at the Summer pasture farms
The Underworld Beings
A being that often appears in legends from the summer pastures (fäbodar) is the underjordiska — the underworld folk. In folklore, they go by various names such as vittra, vättar, the little people, or the invisible ones. According to tales, they lived on or near the pasture grounds. It was important to stay on good terms with the underjordiska, as angering them could lead to mischief or misfortune at the summer farm.
One had to stay in the good graces of the little ones or small folk. They were often called trolls or skog-Karin ("Forest Karin") or skoga, a type of forest spirit or skogsrå, and you did not want to upset them. For example, if milk or something else was spilled on the floor, one would say, “That was for Karin.” When herding the cows, one would leave salt and bits of bread for her on stones.
According to Marta Olsson from Strömnesvallen, the little folk moved into the pasture on the same day as regular people, but a little later. So one had to hurry upon arrival and prepare everything so they could move in that same evening. According to most other storytellers, however, the little folk moved out when humans arrived — and moved back in in autumn after people left. When entering the pasture hut for the first time in spring, one should say “Good day.”1
The Forest Spirit (Skogsrået)
In the woods around the summer pastures lived the skogsrå, a female forest spirit. She was also called Bästa, råndan, huldran, or skogsfrun (“forest wife”), with nicknames like Talle-Maja and Grankotte-Kari. In many tales, the skogsrå had her own cows and goats, which she herded in the forest. If someone was quick enough to throw a piece of steel over the animals, they could keep them. But one had to be careful not to provoke her.
One dairymaid sat knitting on the sleeping bench when suddenly a large flock of sheep surrounded her. She quickly threw her knife over them. All disappeared — except two that she was allowed to keep. Another girl had worse luck. In similar circumstances, she threw a knife over a herd of cows led by Bästa. One cow remained, the rest vanished with Bästa. The girl, named Lisbet, took the cow home to the pasture and tied it in the stall. Later, while cooking whey butter (messmör), she dozed off from the heat. Suddenly the walls shook, and a voice called out: “Lisbet, Lisbet, the whey pot is boiling over!” She sprang up, and there in the doorway stood Bästa, laughing. “If you took the cow, you’ll have the pail too!” she shouted and hurled a silver bucket that struck Lisbet’s leg, breaking the bone. Lisbet walked with a limp the rest of her life.
Yes, that’s how the old folks told it! But Bästa also liked some girls and helped them in many ways — waking them when the pots boiled over during a nap, driving stray cows back to the pasture, and so on.
If barking was heard at night, as if from a dog, and it seemed a hunting party circled the pasture hut, that was dangerous. It meant Bästa had been offended. In such cases, one should be cautious: step onto the floor with the right foot first, let the cows walk out of the barn over a piece of steel, and invoke the name of the Holy Trinity. Then Bästa would not be able to cause harm.
Trolls
The trolls of legend lived in the mountains, in the forest, or underground. Like the forest spirit (skogsrå) and the underworld beings (underjordiska), trolls could have their own livestock, which they herded in the woods. To prevent humans or animals at the summer pastures from being abducted (bergtagna) by the trolls, various protective measures were used.
At the summer pastures of Snårberget, a girl was once alone with her cows one autumn long ago. One morning, before dawn had fully broken, she suddenly heard the sound of bells, cows, and people outside. When she looked out, she saw a large herd of black cows and trolls passing through the pasture. She heard the bells ringing as the procession disappeared along the fence line.
The next day, when her relatives arrived from the village, they found her nearly scared out of her wits.2
To avoid being abducted by trolls (bergtagen), dairymaids at the summer pastures would carry a silver coin with them while herding. A pregnant cow also needed protection from being taken by the trolls. To protect her, a cross made of steel was hung on a ribbon around the animal’s neck, and on either side of the cross, a tar-painted cross was drawn.3
The Dairymaid, the Trolls, and the Robbers
Some legends appear in multiple versions across different summer pasture stories in the archives of Isof (The Institute for Language and Folklore). The core story remains the same, but the location, characters, and details may vary. Two such examples are the tale of the trolls dressing the dairymaid as a bride and the story of the dairymaid who encounters robbers at the pasture hut but cleverly manages to summon help from the home village.
There is said to be a silver crown in Ransäter parish, which was once stolen from the trolls. A dairymaid was staying at the summer pasture with her livestock. One night, a group of troll women came from the forest to her. They had decided that the dairymaid would be wed to one of their sons. The dairymaid had a dog with her. Sensing that the trolls meant her harm, she quickly gave a sign to the dog and sent it home. It wasn’t long before one of the farmer’s servants arrived at the pasture with a rifle. Realizing trolls were inside, he fired a shot over the roof of the cabin. At that, the trolls stormed out and vanished into the deep forest. When the farmhand entered the hut, he found the dairymaid dressed as a bride, wearing a beautiful silver crown. They quickly removed the crown and the jewelry the trolls had placed on her and brought it home. The trolls never got their crown back. According to legend, it remained in Ransäter parish.
Told in Övre Ullerud parish, Värmland by Carl Nyvall (b. 1847). Recorded in 1930 by Ragnar Nilsson (Isof, IFGH 2038).
There was a girl alone at the pasture while her companion was back in the village. Then twelve robbers came to her. They slaughtered an ox, tied up the bell cow, and attempted to abduct her. But she played “Tull och så vidare” on her horn to signal her companion in the village. Upon hearing the signal, the companion sent help, and the robbers were driven away. This event supposedly happened at a summer pasture in eastern Lima.4
Protection Against Evil Forces
Beings around the summer pastures — such as the underworld folk and the forest spirit — could be both helpful and dangerous. To avoid angering the supernatural, one had to show them respect, such as not pouring hot water on the ground, which could harm the underworld beings. There were also rituals and objects used to ward off evil, such as making the sign of the cross and placing iron or steel in certain places.
Before letting the cows out for the first time at the pasture, people would put salt and flour in the cowbells and give each cow a pinch. They would also “steel” the cows — that is, stroke each cow’s back three times with a knife and stick the knife into the wall above the door. Then the cows would walk under it.
To ensure the cows returned properly, one should remove one’s apron, place it on the threshold, and let the cows walk over it. To keep the cows together in the forest, it was common to tie three tail hairs to the bell using three knots.
To protect against supernatural beings, people would place steel in the cowshed threshold and hang a horseshoe above the door. On May 1st, it was also customary to run around the farm with a cowbell to scare away predators and mischievous spirits.
In earlier times, people made the sign of the cross with their hand before entering a summer pasture hut for the first time of the season. They did the same when leaving the hut in autumn, to prevent evil forces from entering while it stood empty. If one placed two sticks in a cross in the fireplace, the chimney was also protected from evil spirits. Before hiding the key with its chain, one should also make the sign of the cross over it with their hand in the air.
Told in Delsbo, Hälsingland by:
Karin Sundell (b. 1877), Bädes-Sigrid (b. 1859), Anna Rask (b. 1858), Jonas Holmberg (b. 1868), Sigrid Eriksson (b. 1852), Kristina Nordin (b. 1867), Marta Olsson (b. 1873), Olof Jonsson (b. 1877), Erik Svensson (b. 1877), Kristina Karlsson (b. 1896), Anna Persson (b. 1891), Per Marsch (b. 1856), E. Nordlund and Karl Olsson (b. 1897).
Recorded in 1937 by Britta Dalhielm (Isof, ULMA 11367).
Told in Järna parish, Dalarna, by Knuts Anna Jonsdotter (born 1839). Recorded by Albert Andersson in 1926 (Isof, LIU 585).
Told in Lima parish, Dalarna by Torks Brita Olsdotter (b. 1842), Per Stor (b. 1866), Perbjörs Per Olsson (b. 1854), Haga Ingeborg Olsson (b. 1867), Lissola Erik Persson (b. 1870), and Kvarnmyr Selma Larsdotter (b. 1879).
Recorded by Nils Hjalmar Matsson in 1929 (Isof, ULMA 2305).
Told in Lima, Dalarna by Torks Brita Olsdotter (b. 1842), Per Stor (b. 1866), Perbjörs Per Olsson (b. 1854), Haga Ingeborg Olsson (b. 1867), Lissola Erik Persson (b. 1870), and Kvarnmyr Selma Larsdotter (b. 1879). Recorded by Nils Hjalmar Matsson in 1929 (Isof, ULMA 2305).