Fjäle

It has been many centuries since anyone lived on the farm in Fjäle. The farm was destroyed in the late 14th century. Following archaeological excavations, a reconstruction of a medieval farm has been built on the site, with a dwelling house and a sheepfold. Welcome to the site!

Isolated among the coniferous forest, there are remains from the Iron Age and the Middle Ages. There are burial grounds, house foundations, wells and stone brooms, and you can still see the farmland that lay below the cliff. In spring and summer, the landscape is transformed into a beautiful summer meadow.

The buildings

Building techniques changed from the Iron Age stone-built houses with ag or turf roofs to wooden houses with load-bearing posts in the wall line during the Late Iron Age/Middle Ages. The oldest settlement in the area consisted of a couple of houses, one of which is clearly visible today. It is about 8 x 22 meters in size and had an ag or turf roof, resting on a meter-high stone base and on two rows of inner posts, sunk into the ground.

During the Late Iron Age, the settlement consisted of many buildings, such as a dwelling house, sheepfold, barn and perhaps a smithy or brewhouse. Water was drawn from at least one stone well.

In the Middle Ages, residential buildings were usually divided into an anteroom and a living room with a fireplace and a baking oven. At this time, the houses were built in half-timbering, so-called bulhus, with horizontally lying wall planks inserted in posts sunk into the ground.

The people in the tombs

The dead were buried on the estate's land and, after the introduction of Christianity in the 11th century, continued to be buried in Ala cemetery. Almost 100 graves have been found in the Fjäleborna burial ground, spread over three burial grounds. The people buried here were buried in the period 500-1050 AD.

During the Early Iron Age, it was common to burn the dead. The urn with ashes was laid down together with rich grave goods. In the Late Iron Age, the dead were often buried unburnt. Women were buried with their rich jewelry sets in the form of buckles, beads, pendants and with practical items such as keys and knives. Men were buried with tools and sometimes weapons such as axes, spears, swords and bows and arrows.

Alongside the graves of the farm people, some graves with few finds were found. These were interpreted as pauper or slave graves, although the background is not entirely certain.

The story of Fjälebysen

The youngest residential house in the Fjäle area was called "Fiähle Büsses huus" according to old survey maps.

A stubborn big farmer lived at Fjäle. He had agreed with the priest that he could not begin his sermon until the Fjäle farmer had arrived at the church. One Sunday he was late and the priest started the sermon. When the farmer arrived at the church, he became so angry that he killed the priest, whereupon the parishioners became enraged and killed the farmer.

Biological and intangible cultural heritage

The area is now a nature reserve. The fact that there are such high biological values at Fjäle is linked to how people have always used and exploited nature in the area, the so-called biological cultural heritage.

The biological values can tell us about the traditional management that has been carried out and that has created the conditions for a rich biodiversity to develop. Biological heritage links history and biology, how humans have used nature. If we can see the traces of biological heritage, the place in front of us becomes rich in stories.

Intangible cultural heritage is the traces of traditional knowledge, stories and crafts that people have left in the landscape and which are linked to tangible cultural heritage. The legend of the Feather Farmer is one such example. This type of legend has not only been told here, but similar legends exist in other parishes.

Good to know for you as a visitor

• It is not permitted to stay overnight in the houses or to light fires in the fireplace.
• A path, about 300 meters long, leads from the parking lot to the reconstructed farm. The stile needs to be passed.
• Fjäle is part of the nature reserve Fjälängar.Information about the nature reserve and regulations.Opens in new window.
• There are grazing lambs in the reserve.