Gruetunet – Open-Air Museum

Gruetunet is the oldest museum under the Norwegian Forest Finnish Museum. It was established in 1942 in order to save a protected building that was scheduled to be demolished.

Gruetunet is located about 1 km east of the centre of Kirkenær, with access from Finnskogvegen.

The museum began with the gallery building from the Nygard farm at Namnå. The building had been protected by the Norwegian Directorate for Cultural Heritage but had to be dismantled to make space for a new residential house.

The Directorate contacted the local community organisation Kirkenær Vel to see if the building could be preserved. The request was passed on to teacher Gunnar Tanga, who quickly arranged land and craftsmen to dismantle and rebuild the building at its new location – all during 1942.

Establishing a museum during World War II in occupied Norway created additional challenges. Only after the Nygard building had been rebuilt did plans develop to create a full museum.

During the 1940s and 1950s, most of the buildings that now make up the museum were moved to the site.

Today the museum area includes 25 historic buildings, representing a traditional main farm, crofter’s farm and mountain summer farm (sæter).

During the 1960s, Gruetunet became one of the most popular outdoor festival areas in Eastern Norway. Several buildings from this period remain as a separate section within the open-air museum. These types of outdoor “people’s parks” for festivals were common in this part of south-eastern Hedmark.

For more information, please visit their website. here.